Business Opportunities, Career Awareness and Entrepreneurial Intention among Business Education Students in Colleges of Education Southwest, Nigeria
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Date
2025-12
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Lead City University, Ibadan
Abstract
Despite the integration of entrepreneurship education into Colleges of Education curricula, entrepreneurial intention among business education students in Colleges of Education in Southwest Nigeria remains relatively low. This study investigated the influence of knowledge of business opportunities and career awareness on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised 1,166 second-year Business Education students in Colleges of Education across Southwest Nigeria, including recently converted Universities of Education. Using total enumeration, the entire population was sampled to enhance validity and reduce bias. Data were collected with an adopted self-structured questionnaire titled Knowledge of Business Opportunities, Career Awareness, and Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (KBAE) (α = 0.893). Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and multiple regression. Findings revealed that students exhibited very high level of entrepreneurial intention (x̅ = 3.53), very high level of knowledge of business opportunities (x̅ = 3.56), and very high level of career awareness (x̅ = 3.60). There was a significant influence of knowledge of business opportunities and career awareness on entrepreneurial intention among business education students in Colleges of Education, Southwest Nigeria (R = 0.753, R² = 0.568, F(2,1106) = 725.911, p < .05). Knowledge of business opportunity has higher influence than career awareness (β = 0.646, p < .05; β = 0.145, p < .05) respectively. Relative influence results of the Business Opportunities indices showed that awareness of market trends (B = 0.166, β = 0.167, t = 6.282, p < .05), access to resources (B = 0.170, β = 0.173, t = 7.453, p < .05), and proficiency in entrepreneurial skills (B = 0.495, β = 0.526, t = 19.258, p < .05) significantly predicted entrepreneurial intention, with entrepreneurial skills being most influential. Likewise, career-related factors were significant: exposure to diverse career options
(B = 0.108, β = 0.111, t = 4.115, p < .05), opportunities for skill development (B 0.134, β = 0.113, t = 3.836, p < .05), and access to career counselling (B = 0.371, β = 0.478, t = 16.642, p < .05), with counselling emerging as the strongest predictor. The findings emphasised that Business Opportunities and Career Awareness strategies are crucial in shaping entrepreneurial intentions. Among the career awareness indicators, career counselling exerted the very high influence, followed by opportunities for skills development and career exposure. The study concludes that
entrepreneurial intention is significantly driven by knowledge of business opportunities and career awareness. It recommends the establishment of entrepreneurship incubation centres, adoption of market-responsive curricula, strengthening of counselling services, development of alumni networks, and the use of technology-driven platforms to enhance entrepreneurial readiness and foster national development.
Keywords: Business Opportunity, Market Trends, Resource Availability, Skills Proficiency, Career Awareness, Career Exposure, Skill Development and Career Counselling
Word Count: 430
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Keywords
Business Opportunity, Market Trends, Resource Availability, Skills Proficiency, Career Awareness, Career Exposure, Skill Development and Career Counselling
Citation
Kate Turabian