Entrepreneurship has played an important role in economic prosperity and social
stability in many developed countries. Today South Africa as developing country is
faced with massive challenges of high levels of unemployment among the youth,
especially university graduates, due to lack of work experience, low skills base and
education. The formal labour market in South Africa is currently saturated, unable to
absorb the ever increasing number of labour force; hence, the decision by the
government to prioritise the development and support of small medium enterprises.
Beside all these interventions, South Africa is still ranked among the lowest of all
developing countries participating in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).
Today entrepreneurship is offered in most of the universities as part of the curriculum
but it is evident that levels of entrepreneurship are still not improving in the country.
There has been an upward trend in the number of young South Africans entering
higher education; this can be attributed to the poor market conditions for low–skilled
workers and the high monetary benefits to education. The daunting observation is
that while the graduate labour force is on the rise, a large number of graduates
possessing diplomas and degrees are finding it difficult to find employment.
Graduate unemployment in South Africa has been rising very fast since 1995 along
with national unemployment.
In this study the entrepreneur was used casually to refer to the owner or creator of a
new business, small, growing, and successful business. This includes any person
who sets up a small business, or changes from being an employee of an
organisation to being self employed, even though neither needs any significant
degree of innovation nor capital.
Risk taking and risk tolerance is one component of entrepreneurship that is very
critical, hence there is a need for more attention in the entrepreneurial education. In
the discovery perspective, cognition has impact on the chance that some people will
identify and seize the opportunity. Opportunity identification depends on prior
awareness and knowledge, whilst exploitation depends on having the necessary
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capabilities. Entrepreneurs should be able to read and recognise patterns for them to
recognise opportunities. Profile of an entrepreneur and skills required are technical
skills, perseverance, communication skills, managerial skills, leadership skills,
innovative skills, pro–activity, information seeking skills, and financial skills.
The primary objective of this study was to assess the attitudes and perceptions
towards entrepreneurship among students in a higher education institution in the
Sedibeng District of the Gauteng Province. The empirical study was conducted
among the population and recommendations on entrepreneurial education were
compiled.
The survey was conducted using a self–completion questionnaire method, whereby
questionnaires are handed out to respondents for self–completion and returned to the
researcher immediately. In an effort to encourage high response, the questionnaire
was accompanied by a cover letter which assured the respondents of confidentiality.
An attitude scale to test the prevalence of entrepreneurial attitudes and perceptions
among the respondents was used. The Likert scale was used whereby the
respondents were asked to rate a particular issue on a scale that ranged from
strongly disagrees to strongly agree.
The majority of the respondents are predominantly young Africans, from low income
families with only few parents that made it to university level, and mostly not involved
in entrepreneurship. The gap exists with regard to equipping the respondents with
entrepreneurial education and training. The university and other stakeholders should
create an environment that is supportive towards entrepreneurial activities. There are
still many business opportunities that need to be explored in South Africa but the
biggest challenge remains the access to knowledge and information with regard to
available support structures.
Tertiary institutions should: Develop start–up capital systems for students whilst
studying. The curriculum design should support employability skills such as
languages, starting your own businesses, presentation skills, creativity and
leadership abilities, specific qualifications focusing on business creation should be
developed, case studies should focus more on opportunity orientated ideas and
business and lecturing staff should be empowered to support entrepreneurial
activities in their respective fields. Databases of possible business ideas should be
developed.
A conceptual research model that will support accelerated youth entrepreneurship
should be developed in the country and research institutions should be contracted to
populate this research model. Furthermore, government regulations should be tested
regarding their impact on youth entrepreneurship development as a standard item.
Fresh approaches are thus needed to stimulate youth entrepreneurship in rural
areas. Therefore, policies and programmes to encourage youth entrepreneurship in
these areas should be researched.
National competitions for youth entrepreneurs should be encouraged and visible
events should be organised such as enterprise weeks at tertiary educational
institutions. Tertiary institutions can also investigate the possibility of business hives
for students or allowing students businesses to operate on campuses for the
duration of their studies. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/7371 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Kgagara, Murutluluga Reuben |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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