ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS ACQUISITION NEED FOR SELF-RELIANCE IN BUSINESS STUDIES AMONG GOVERNMENT JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS IN NIGER STATE

This study was conducted to assess the employability skills acquisition need for self-reliance in business studies among government junior secondary schools students in Niger State. The researchers raised two research questions for the study. In line with the research question, two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level if significant. A survey research design was used for the study. The area of this study consists of one government junior secondary schools from each local government in the state which comprise of twenty-five local government. A random sampling technique was used and the sample size for the study was two hundred and ten (210). A 4-point Likert scale used for the and the questionnaire was tagged as “Business Studies Skill Acquisition Questionnaire (BSSAQ)” containing twenty (20) statement items were used to collect data. To obtain the reliability coefficient of the measuring instrument, the instrument was pilot tested using some fifteen (15) selected junior secondary schools in Ilorin. The result obtained from the pilot study were then analyzed using Cranach alpha reliability coefficient statistical and the reliability index obtained was 0.88. The data collected on the twenty (20) statement items of the questionnaire were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and t-test was used to test the null hypotheses formulated for the study. The study revealed among others, that a significant difference existed in the employability skills acquisition need for self-reliance in government junior secondary schools in Niger State. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that at junior secondary schools business studies contents should be well taught in other to encourage the acquisition of employability skills among the students of junior secondary schools in Niger state. Also, Business studies at the government junior secondary level should be encouraged through proper funding, and the provision of equipment for better acquisition of computer skills.