Factors influencing entrepreneurial competencies acquisition among technical institution graduates in Tanzania

Abstract

Despite the concerted efforts to integrate entrepreneurship courses into the mainstream education system, the perceived lack of entrepreneurial competencies among university graduates remains one of the obstacles hindering their potential to venture into business start-ups. This paper assesses factors influencing the acquisition of entrepreneurial competencies among technical institution graduates. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the study adopts a Human Capital Theory as a theoretical lens and uses a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from 391 technical institution graduates who graduated between 2012 and 2017 from technical colleges and universities in Dar es Salaam. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Ordinal Logistic Regression Model. The findings show that exposure to entrepreneurship courses had a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial competencies acquisition among technical institution graduates. The acquired entrepreneurial competencies correspond with the number of entrepreneurship courses studied. Specifically, graduates who studied at least one entrepreneurship course were ten times more likely to acquire requisite entrepreneurial competencies than those who didn’t. Beyond formal entrepreneurship education, informal entrepreneurship exposure through life experience in age, previous employment, and parental role modeling in self-employment and education level had a significant effect on technical institution graduates’ entrepreneurial competencies acquisition. The paper concludes that entrepreneurship education is an effective intervention for enhancing the acquisition of requisite entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and attitudes critical for technical institution graduates to venture into business start-ups. However, it should be complemented with lifecycle experiences through age, employment, and parental role modelling in self-employment and education levels. The findings suggest some policy and practical implications for improving the quality and relevance of entrepreneurship education in higher learning institutions, particularly those with applied sciences, engineering, and technology specialties.