Mediating Effects of Entrepreneurship Education on Personality Dimensions and Venture Creation of Nigerian Graduates: An Empirical Approach

The study examines the mediating effects of entrepreneurial education on the need for achievement, risk-taking, self-efficacy, and venture creation among Nigerian graduates. A targeted sampling technique was used for the selection of the corps members deployed to the Oyo State. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the data with the aid of STATA version 15. The results reveal that entrepreneurship education has a positive association with the need for achievement, and self-efficacy. Further reveals that entrepreneurship education has a positive relationship with risk-taking but insignificant. It was also revealed that need for achievement has inverse relationship with venture creation, while self-efficacy has a positive but insignificant relationship with venture creation. There is evidence that taking risks is positively and significantly related to starting a business. This suggests that entrepreneurship education serves as a platform to encourage personality traits like the desire for success, risk-taking, self- efficacy, and entrepreneurial intentions to venture into business. The study, therefore, recommends that policymakers should make entrepreneurship education mandatory for students at all levels, that teachers should involve students in practical work, and that the government should create an environment that is conducive to the growth of entrepreneurship in the nation. This will significantly contribute to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.