ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CITIZENS IN KATSINA-ALA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE

Abstract

This study investigated Entrepreneurship Skills Development and Socio-Economic Development of residents in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State. The purpose of the study was to find out the influence of entrepreneurship skills development on reduction of unemployment and creation of self-reliance among the residents of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State. Two research questions were raised and two hypotheses formulated for the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised 224,718 residents in the urban, semi-urban and rural areas of the study area.  A sample of 300 residents was drawn through multistage sampling technique for the study. A questionnaire titled ‘Entrepreneurship skills development and Social Economic Development Questionnaire, (ESDSSEDQ) was used for data collection. A trial test of the instrument yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.843. The questionnaire was administered on 300 respondents while 287 copies were recovered. Collected data were analyzed using Mean Scores to answer the research questions while Chi-square was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that entrepreneurship skills development reduced unemployment and increased self-reliance among residents of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State. The study recommended that the state government and public-spirited individuals should empower the residents to develop their entrepreneurship skills so that they can benefit from entrepreneurship.