Entrepreneurial Education: An Opening in Changing Management Skills of Informal Entrepreneurs for Viable Development in Gombe Metropolis

Abstract

Economic development can be realized with the elimination of mass poverty and
unemployment. This study assessed the contributions of entrepreneurship Education
course in enhancing management/ entrepreneurial skills of informal entrepreneurs in
Gombe Metropolis. Informal entrepreneurs are those who passed through the
technical/vocational colleges and have certificates with which they are carrying out
their entrepreneurship as a result of the fact that they are not able to move forward
academically. Two research questions guided the study. The population, which was
used as the sample for the study because of its small size, was 41 informal
entrepreneurs in Gombe metropolis of Gombe State. The instruments for data
collection were a 14-item questionnaire. The mean was used for data analysis. Results
showed that the entrepreneurship knowledge given to these informal entrepreneurs
were adequate but are not reinforced and some of the trade areas get less of what they
are supposed to get. Attention also should be given to the technical aspect. The
informal entrepreneurs in their fields of business have seen the entrepreneurship
education as very important. Based on these, recommendations were made which
includes, colleges should teach and train skills which are directly usable in the
informal sector and the government should occasionally organize entrepreneurship
education program for those already in the informal sector.