Barriers to graduate employment and entrepreneurship in Nigeria

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the challenges faced by Nigerian university graduates youths, in finding suitable employment or in embarking on entrepreneurship ventures. Design/methodology/approach The research investigates the barriers to graduate employment and entrepreneurship in Nigeria starting from the hypothesis that there are other factors besides scarcity of jobs responsible for unemployment in Nigeria. Data from two qualitative research activities were analysed and the results tested, to determine the extent to which the research findings supported the initial hypothesis. Findings The findings confirm the researcher's hypothesis that there are a number of factors, the two main ones being poor government policy and investment in education and low skills and technical incompetence of graduates, which constitute barriers to employment and entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Practical implications The findings are clear on the urgency to revisit the Nigerian education and skills curricula and its capacity to facilitate employment and entrepreneurship, and government policy-making in this regard. Originality/value This study bases its recommendations for addressing Nigeria's high graduate unemployment on empirical direct engagement with the primary stakeholder, that is, the Nigerian graduate. It clearly identifies that it is not merely scarcity of jobs but a myriad of factors requiring the urgent attention of both public and private sectors that constitute barriers to graduate employment and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.