Influence of entrepreneurship education curriculum on employment of polytechnic graduate students from the Midlands Province, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Despite policy interventions by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development in Zimbabwe, as well as the donors’ support for graduates from the polytechnics in the Midlands province, the role of entrepreneurship education in the creation of meaningful jobs for graduate students has remained relatively insignificant. This study aimed to examine how entrepreneurship education curriculum in the polytechnics contributes towards employment creation for graduates. The objectives of the study were to establish entrepreneurship education curriculum’s influence on personality traits of students in the polytechnic colleges in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. Moreover, the study focussed on identifying entrepreneurship methods that were ideal for students’ learning, and evaluating the education content to ascertain whether entrepreneurship education curriculum in polytechnics enhanced job creation. Data was collected through a qualitative multi-case study design, with 40 lecturers and graduate students participating in focus group discussions and interviews. Participants were sampled through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Comparisons were drawn between entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe and other polytechnics in the region and beyond. The study revealed a disconnection between epistemology entrepreneurship and the practical skills essential for job creation. The study also established that entrepreneurship education curriculum could not entirely change students’ mind-sets to embrace new business start-ups because of inadequate resources, poor curriculum implementation and incompetent educators. Empirical results confirm that if considerable support could be offered, graduate students might be motivated to venture into actual business start-ups. On this basis, government should encourage all stakeholders through adopting the framework titled Stakeholders Collective Approach Intervention (SCAI) of entrepreneurship education to aid in the graduate students’ creation of actual business start-ups. The study makes a vital contribution to the body of knowledge on entrepreneurship education through customising the SCAI framework to reduce poverty through job creation. The study recommends that the Zimbabwe government give holistic support to entrepreneurship education curriculum through a budget that contributes to the achievement of feasible self-employment after graduation. Finally, the study provided a framework to assist policy makers to reduce the number of unemployed graduates from polytechnics in Zimbabwe