DIGITAL SKILLS REQUIRED OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS FOR SELF-RELIANCE VENTURE FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY

Abstract

The study investigated digital skills required of business education students for self-reliance venture for sustainable economy. Two research questions were posed; and two hypotheses tested at 0.05 level significance were used. The research was conducted in Colleges of Education in Anambra State, Nigeria. The population of the study comprised 83 business education lecturers in the two colleges of education in Anambra State. A survey design was adopted for the study. A 25-item questionnaire was employed for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by specialists and reliability co-efficient of 0.81 obtained after a pilot study using Cronbach Alpha. A total of 80 copies of questionnaire were used in data analysis. The findings showed that the respondents accepted all digital tools and social media skills as required of business education students for self-reliance venture. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others that, business education students should be taught digital skills to enhance their knowledge of the tools while in school. Where institutions are in lack of some of these tools, they should be provided through Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) assistance to enable the students acquire the experiences during the school period. Business education students should equally make extra effort to acquire digital skills through some other alternative means such as skills acquisition centres, vocational centres, and so on.