Graduate Joblessness: Conviction for Entrepreneurship Studies in Library and Information Science Programme of Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to understand what the Nigerian graduates are passing through, most especially graduate of library and information science programme of Nigerian tertiary institutions. Findings: The statistics of unemployed graduates in Nigeria as at 2011 showed that a disheartening figure of 42.7 million with over 1,8 million graduates churned out of our higher institutions yearly. It was further revealed that the unemployment rate in Nigeria stood at 38 percent in 2013 with further increase expected in succeeding years. The slow rate of economic growth and undeveloped private sector, faulty manpower planning, high expectations of the fresh graduate attitude towards some types of jobs, recruitments, the quest for higher education, inadequate educational curricular, immobility of labour, the long period of initial unemployment among graduates of higher institution, use of capital intensive technology, wide rural-urban migration Conclusion: It is evident that entrepreneurship education is important for Library and Information Science students in higher institution of learning. The training of Library and Information Science students must reflect the 21st century development in the field which is influenced by the emergence of Information Technology, hence, Library and Information Science students must have computer proficiency, familiarity with metadata, database management and application, web development and design, knowledge of electronic resources and services