Curriculum and Entrepreneurship Skill Acquisition at the Tertiary Educational Level: Implication for Counselling Nigeria Youths

This paper focused on the curriculum and entrepreneurship skill acquisition at the tertiary educational level and the counselling implication. The issue of unemployment and un-employability has become a global problem that requires people with the charisma and authority to sustain, improve and reinvent business activities. These people are entrepreneurs who possess the transformational capacity to embrace change and initiate needed guidance. An Entrepreneur has been defined by Anugwom (2007) as one who is dissatisfied with present methods and would want to strike at obstacles and make the best of opportunities. It was in the light of the need for entrepreneurs that the National University Commission (NUC) (2011) directed Universities to establish Entrepreneurial Study Centres (ESCs), in addition to a degree programme and general studies across the various tertiary educational levels before the end of 2011. The NUC has also developed a curriculum for the various programmes with the matching practicum experience which is hoped to help students at that level to acquire needed skills. The paper also ex-rayed the need for vocational Guidance Counsellors in entrepreneurship who through conducting constantly need analyses to ascertain the recent occupational life of th3 people, create awareness for job opportunities available and training facilities. Through vocational counselling it is assumed that the student will gain an insight to choose a realistic goal, the attainment of which is well within his reach if harnessed. The paper concluded with a warning that creativity means that people have to think outside the box.


INTRODUCTION
The world-wide economic meltdown and other antecedents like technological advancement have led to unemployment even at the graduate level. The issue of unemployment and un-employability has led to the clarion call for entrepreneurship education. Udu, Udu and Eze (2008) observed that dynamic economic conditions of the world today need flexible people with the charisma and authority to sustain, improve and reinvent business activities. These are special individuals who are able to drive through change, at both strategic and tactical level.Such people are expected to possess the transformational capacity to embrace change and to steer organizations through crisis and chaos, to guide, integrate and initiate force. This force is simply entrepreneurship and signifies business and financial leadership and control of business. This force is able to change the socio economic outlook of an individual, a company, an industry or even a national economy. All major innovations of the past and present usually have this force factor. In a nation where educational system is certificate-driven and in most cases, lacks the practical or entrepreneurship capabilities even with Students' Industrial Work Experiences (SIWES), a more directive approach is needed. It was in the light of this gap that the National University Commission (NUC) {2011) directed Universities to establish Entrepreneurial Study Centres (ESCs), in addition to a degree programme and general studies across the various levels before the end of 2011. This is to add value to the existing programmes that have left Nigerian graduates unemployed or unemployed able, since intelligence and entrepreneurship are probably seen to be the two greatest of human endowments that have shaped the history of all nations.
The programme which is multidisciplinary/talented and cuts across the levels is, therefore, designed to acquaint students in their various faculties to become armed with the necessary ideas, imagination strategies, skills and techniques needed in the use of their serendipity. The NUC has since come up with a Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Undergraduates Programmes in Nigeria Universities both for the B.Sc. programme and the GST programme. Entrepreneurship: Anugwom (2007:7) saw an entrepreneur as one who is dissatisfied with present methods and would want to strike at obstacles and make the best of opportunities. This means that he perceives business opportunities and takes advantage of them by utilizing his scarce resources to achieve his objectives, bearing all the risks as the originator of business ideas. Entrepreneurship has been defined by Gana (2006) as the willingness and ability of an individual to seek out investment opportunities in an environment and be able to establish and run an enterprise successfully, based on the identified opportunity. The entrepreneur is, therefore, not a capital provider or a venture capitalist. He is above all a risk bearer, imaginiser and problem solver whose state of mind is constantly guided by serendipity and ideation of a pragmatic type.

Philosophy and Objectives of entrepreneurship skill acquisition at the Tertiary Educational level:
The philosophy of entrepreneurship skill acquisition at the tertiary education level could be seen as collection of formalized teaching that informs trains and educates anyone interested in participating in socio-economic development through a project to promote entrepreneurship awareness, business creation or small business development.
Entrepreneurship training fosters self-reliance, employment and livelihood diversification in the case of one who is already employed (entrepreneurship). f. To stimulate students' interest in fostering productive culture in the larger society through teaching, advisory and consultancy services, mentoring and active engagements. g. g. To equip students with analytical skills in problem solving, negotiations, conflict resolution, marketing, leadership, interpersonal relations and financial management. h. To develop in students, the desire to excel and live a meaningful life through self i. discovery. j. To instill in students the need for independent thinking, economic freedom and k. respect fortalents. l. To prepare graduates for higher studies in the field. Importance or entrepreneurship skill acquisition at the Tertiary Educational Level: Nwadinobi, Eneasator and Umezuluike (2010) outlined seven important points, as possible roles of the entrepreneurship skill acquisition for students and school leavers. These include: 1. Reduction of unemployment. 2. Promotion of Economic Activities 3. Creation of room for creativity and selfdevelopment. 4. Self reliance. 5. Self-actualization. 6. Stabilization of the economy. 7. Developing training ground. When the students have acquired entrepreneurship skills, they should be able to establish their own businesses, and not wait for government or other people's employment and thereby reducing their restiveness which often leads to crimes and other social vices. Being entrepreneurs themselves may lead to self actualization for the individuals who may see that their dreams are being fulfilled. They now have opportunity for self-development, creativity and the opportunity of showcasing their serendipity; hence promote economic activities and on the long run stabilization of the economy.

Course contents required for Graduation:
The NUC specified the inclusion of both the B.Sc Entrepreneurship programme and the GST Entrepreneurship programme for entrepreneurship skill acquisition at the tertiary educational level. The curriculum requirements as outlined by the NUC Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for undergraduate programmes in Nigeria Universities (2011) include the following courses for GST Programme:

Implication for Counselling:
One major strategy for remediation of problems is through guidance and counselling. Shertzer and Stone (1976) defined Guidance as the process of helping individuals to understand themselves and their world. This definition implies that the programme involves a series of actions aimed towards achieving a goal and counselling is one those services of guidance programme.Counselling as Mallum (1990:14) saw it is Dan interpersonal relationship, usually between two individuals, a Counsellor and a Client, in which the principal objectives are the development of the client, the improvement of his welfare and the amelioration of his problems. D The implication of this definition is that the students need vocational counselling in order to reduce un-employment. Vocational counselling is the type .of interaction that follows after a client has taken a battery of vocational tests. Some of these tests like the Vocational Interest Inventory (VII), the Occupational Interest Profile (OIP) and the Job characteristics Scale (JCS) aim at identifying an individuals ability, aptitudes and interests for particular vocations. During counselling according to Olayinka (1999) different occupations falling within the framework of the client's particular abilities, aptitudes and interests profile are discussed, vocational information is given and a course of study is mapped out. This in no way relieves the client of his particular responsibility since the ultimate choice is still his. However, through vocational counselling it is assumed that the student will gain an insight to choose a realistic goal, the attainment of which is well within his reach. Another angle to the amelioration of students' problems could also be in the involvement of professional Guidance Counsellors in entrepreneurship education by conducting constantly need analyses to ascertain the recent occupational life of the people, job opportunities available and training facilities available. This will help in realistic job selection for suitability and acceptability within the individual's environment.

II. CONCLUSION
Entrepreneurship involves creativity. Creativity starts with going outside the box. Boxes could be laws, norms, assumptions, mind sets etc. Thinking within the box limits our thinking and makes us to be limited and narrow minded. Creativity requires persistency; assumptions do not work in creativity. There are many correct answers in life, many possibilities. It must be noted that entrepreneurship skill acquisition involves identification of persons with entrepreneurial skills and developing such skills in them. At the tertiary educational level many students have natural endowments, ideation and serendipity that need to be teased out and projected into necessary skills needed for entrepreneurial ventures. The NUC has actually done a great job in packaging the Entrepreneurship curriculum for the tertiary educational level which will indeed bridge the economic gap that exists in the national economic growth and development. Again, the career counsellors are needed for career information to help the student in identifying their abilities, aptitudes and interests in order to make appropriate choices and become good entrepreneurs.