Prospecting entrepreneurialism : exploring perceived preparedness for entrepreneurial and professional life after higher education

Abstract

Purpose: A lot of policy initiatives are being introduced and undertaken to better prepare students for their careers. The study explores past and current students’ perceptions regarding their preparedness to follow either an entrepreneurial or professional life. Design: The study made use of a mixed data collection method, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative measures. A total of 60 current students responded an online questionnaire while 7 past students who are now practicing entrepreneurs sat for a semi-structured in-depth interview. Findings: The study asked respondents a variety of questions depending on their stated career intentions. Students with no entrepreneurial intent were found to perceive themselves as not prepared enough for professional/employed life. In fact almost 70% of participants only described themselves as ‘somewhat’ prepared after having climbed the educational ladder all the way to university. Meanwhile, students with entrepreneurial intent also felt that their educational journey did not fully prepare them to begin their lives as entrepreneurs. The most cited reason for this was the lack of hands-on experience within courses. From their end, the 7 entrepreneurs interviewed by and large corroborated the sentiments of students. They feel that the current educational system is not preparing tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and employees to the full extent. Exceptions to this were found with 2 interviewees who had specifically undertaken an entrepreneurship course although even these interviewees took exception to the lack of practice being offered in courses at the moment. Conclusions: Through the data collected it is evident that more needs to be done in preparing students for their careers. In addition, sub-conclusions could also be made. For example, entrepreneurial intent is low in students attending university. This indicates that current efforts in promoting the need for more entrepreneurialism are not enough. Another sub-conclusion is that entrepreneurship education is perceived to be beneficial to children attending primary and secondary schools. This not only helps in igniting the entrepreneurial spirit in children but also opens their minds to be able to think critically so that they are better prepared for their future career. Value: The researcher hopes that the conclusions drawn from this study are taken into account by stakeholders such as primary and secondary schools, higher education institutions and government policy makers when discussing curricula for future educational cycles.