Critical Skills for the 21st Century: Technopreneurial and Innovative Behaviour of Fresh Graduates in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study explores the influence of the acquisition of critical skills on the technopreneurial and innovative behaviour of fresh graduates in Lagos State, Nigeria. One set of structured questionnaire was administered on two hundred and fifty (250) graduates of Engineering, Science and Management Science disciplines. The survey revealed that the skills that have been acquired by the respondents are critical thinking and problem solving (89.23%), creativity and innovation (87.34%), collaboration (70.40%), and perseverance (73.95%). These skills were acquired through multiple sources such as personal exploits (88.46%), skill acquisition/entrepreneurship development programmes (82.09%), entrepreneurship education (79.67%), family business (76.92%); and seminars and workshops (75.80%) among others. Majority (87.65%) of the graduates claimed to be engaged in technological enterprises such as Software Development, AutoCAD Design, Digital Printing/Multimedia Publishing, Technology Gadget Rentals; and Photoshop Services. Regression analysis revealed that all the skills contributed 67.8% (Adjusted R2 = 0.678) to the technopreneurial and innovative conduct of the graduates. The study concluded that acquisition of critical skills influenced the technopreneurial and innovative behaviour of young graduates in Lagos State. The research recommended that government and private organisations should encourage and support the acquisition of necessary skills designed for the technopreneurial development of the youth. Moreover, the study recommended that graduates should be engaged in entrepreneurship programmes.