Determinants of career decisions among rural youth: the case of undergraduate students from farming households in Ondo State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52493/j.oujas.2024.2.95Keywords:
Career decisions, rural youth employment, skill acquisition policies, professional certification, educational investment outcomesAbstract
This study investigates the relationship between undergraduate students' understanding of career-related risks, educational performance, and career outcomes in Nigeria. Specifically, it explores how government policies on financial support for skill acquisition and professional certifications influence career decisions. Conducted in Ondo State, the study used the Yamane formula to sample 198 students from a population of 394, obtaining 188 valid responses through structured questionnaires administered in two waves. It applied the Maximin criterion to assess the expected returns on educational investments and their impact on employment outcomes. The findings revealed that 26% of students preferred self-employment with technical skills (D1), 8% aimed for specialized professional self-employment (D4), while 54% and 12% opted for wage employment without (D2) and with professional certifications (D3), respectively. The study highlighted Decision 2 (D2) as the most favourable, emphasizing the influence of policy interventions in shifting preferences towards decisions 3 (D3) and 4 (D4). The socioeconomic variations among students who changed their decisions indicate the significant impact of perceived risks and policy frameworks on career choices. Additionally, the study found that older students and males are more likely to choose professional certification and wage employment, with age and gender showing odds ratios of 2.001 and 4.411, respectively. Risk-taking propensity, higher annual stipends, and affordability of professional skills also significantly influence career decisions, with respective odds ratios of 2.097, 3.483, and 2.113. These insights emphasize the complex interplay of various factors in shaping career preferences and the importance of targeted educational and policy interventions.
References
Akanmu, O. (2011). Graduate employment and employability challenges in Nigeria, presented at British Council Global Higher Education Conference, Hong Kong, March 12.
Abiasekog, E. M., (1992). A preliminary study of educational and occupational aspiration and expectation of rural youth in Cross River State in Nigeria. Journal of the Nigeria Institute of social and Economic Research (NISER), 2(1), 79-110.
Adeosun, O. T., Owolabi, K. E., Eshiet, I. C., & Owolabi, T. J. (2023). Exploring the transition from informal to formal jobs and its consequent impacts on the livelihood of migrant youths in Lagos metropolis. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 17(6), 1135-1153.
Ades, A. E., Lu, G., & Claxton, K. (2004). Expected value of sample information calculations in medical decision modelling. Medical decision making, 24(2), 207-227.
African Development Bank (2013). AfDB and Nigeria: Leveraging Partnerships for Economic Transformation and Inclusive Growth. Tunis-Belvedere: African Development Bank Group.
African Development Bank (2016). Jobs for Youth in Africa: Strategy for Creating 25 Million Jobs and Equipping 50 Million Youth 2016–2025. Addis Ababa: African Development Bank.
Allen, A., Howard, J., Kondo, M., Jamison, A., Jayne, T., Snyder, J., & Yeboah, K. F. (2016). Agrifood youth employment and engagement study. Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI, USA.
Anabaraonye, B., Ewa, B. O., Anukwonke, C. C., Eni, M., & Anthony, P. C. (2021). The Role of Green Entrepreneurship and Opportunities in Agripreneurship for Sustainable Economic Growth in Nigeria. Covenant Journal of Entrepreneurship, 5(1). 2682-5295.
Arubayi, D. O., & Akobo, L. A. (2018). The capability approach and national development in Nigeria: Towards a youth transition model. Human Resource Development International, 21(5), 463-492.
Ayinla M, A, and Ogunmero, B, (2016). Youth unemployment and its impact on Nigeria Economic Development. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development.9(17),22-41.
Badawi, B. (2024). Entrepreneurial Character Education from an Early Age. Al-Hayat: Journal of Islamic Education, 8(1), 197-208.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Becker, G. S. (1964). Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Berger, L., Bleichrodt, H., & Eeckhoudt, L. (2013). Treatment decisions under ambiguity. Journal of health economics, 32(3), 559-569.
Berger, N., & Fisher, P. (2013). A well-educated workforce is key to state prosperity. Economic Policy Institute, 22(1), 1-14.
S4YE (Goldin, N. & M. Hobson with P. Glick, M. Lundberg, S. Puerto). 2015. “Toward Solutions for Youth Employment: A Baseline for 2015.” Solutions for Youth Employment, Washington D.C.
De Pinto, A., & Ulimwengu, J. M. (Eds.). (2017). A thriving agricultural sector in a changing climate: Meeting Malabo Declaration goals through climate-smart agriculture. Annual Trend and Outlook Report. 2016 Washington D.C. International Food Policy Research Institute.
Ditse, Z. (2020). Bridging the skills gap in the financial industry: uncovering the skills that banks require in the future world of work (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria).
Fenwick, E., Claxton, K., & Sculpher, M. (2008). The value of implementation and the value of information: combined and uneven development. Medical Decision Making, 28(1), 21-32.
Fox, L., & Thomas, A. (2016). Africa's got work to do: A diagnostic of youth employment challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of African Economies, 25(suppl_1), i16-i36.
Geza, W., Ngidi, M. S. C., Slotow, R., & Mabhaudhi, T. (2022). The dynamics of youth employment and empowerment in agriculture and rural development in South Africa: A scoping review. Sustainability, 14(9), 5041. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095041. Accessed on 22/07/2024
Gutierrez, K. (2017). Mind-Blowing Statistics That Prove the Value of Employee Training and Development.https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/statistics-value-of-employee-training-and-development
Hanaysha, J., & Tahir, P. R. (2016). Examining the Effects of Employee Empowerment, Teamwork, and Employee Training on Job Satisfaction. Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 219, 272-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.016.
Hassan, N., Siew, L. W., & Shen, S. Y. (2012). Portfolio decision analysis with maximin criterion in the Malaysian stock market. Applied Mathematical Sciences, 6(110), 5483-5486.
Hennessy, G., & Yip, J. (2021). Career decision making. In Handbook of research methods in careers (pp. 103-119). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hoppick, R. (1997). Occupational information. New York: McGraw-Hill Co.
Love, I., Nikolaev, B. & Dhakal, C. The well-being of women entrepreneurs: the role of gender inequality and gender roles. Small Bus Econ 62, 325–352 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00769-z
Mabiso, A., & Benfica, R. (2019). The Narrative on Rural Youth and Economic Opportunities in Africa: Facts, Myths, and Gaps.
Meltzer D, Chung JW, Hoomans T, Basu A. Minimal Modelling Approaches to Value of Information Analysis for Health Research. Report prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2010. Available from: https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/topics/methods-futurevalue-of-information/research. Accessed February 5, 2018.
Mishra P. (2023). The Impact of Learning and Development on Employee Retention in Organizations.7(5), 1-5. DOI: 10.55041/IJSREM22576. Accessed on 22/07/2024
Muo, I.k. (2013). Motivation and Managing Knowledge Workers: Evidence from Diverse Industries and Cultures, Journal of Management and Sustainability; 3(2), 119-13
National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Labour Force Statistics: Unemployment and Underemployment Report (Q2 2020). Available online: https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pdfuploads/Q2_2020_Unemployment_Report.pdf (accessed on 17 February 2023).
Ndofirepi, T. M., & Rambe, P. (2017). Entrepreneurship education and its impact on the entrepreneurship career intentions of vocational education students. Problems and Perspectives in Management, (15, Iss. 1 (cont.)), 191-199.
Nwosu, J. C., & Chukwudi, J. H. (2018). Entrepreneurship education and the challenges of graduate employability in Nigeria. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 9(5), 189-193.
Ofuoku, A. U., & Emuh, F. N. (2009). African and rural women in agricultural and rural development: Challenges and opportunities. In Agbamu, J.U. (ed.). Perspectives in agricultural extension and rural development. Pp 3480. Owerri: Springfield Publishers Ltd.
Ofuoku, A. U., & Ugbechie, M. N. (2017). Influence of agricultural child labour experience on students’ decision to study agriculture in Delta State, Nigeria. Nigerian Agricultural Policy Research Journal, 2(1), 82-93.
Osita, E. E. (2020). Social Determinants of Rural Secondary School Students’ Choice of Agricultural Career and its Implication for Counselling Services: A Case of Delta State, Nigeria. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, 10(1), 515-527.
Otitoju, M. A., Folorunsho, M. A., Erinfolami, O., & Odewusi, O. M. (2023). Review of the “Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme (P-Yes)” and Employment Generation in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects. Open Access Library Journal, 10(8), 1-15.
Ouwens, M. J., Tan, F. E., & Berger, M. P. (2006). A maximin criterion for the logistic random intercept model with covariates. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference, 136(3), 962-981.
Ouwens, M. J., Tan, P. E., & Berger, M. P. (2002). Maximin D‐optimal designs for longitudinal mixed effects models. Biometrics, 58(4), 735-741.
Peña-Ayala, A., & Villegas-Berumen, H. G. (2020). Evaluation of the influence that higher education boosts on students’ entrepreneurial proclivity: Evidence from Mexico and Spain. The International Journal of Management Education, 18(3), 100404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100404. Accessed on 22/07/2024
Premand, P., Brodmann, S., Almeida, R., Grun, R., & Barouni, M. (2016). Entrepreneurship education and entry into self-employment among university graduates. World Development, 77, 311-327.
Khadka, A. K., & Khadka, S. (2024). Productive Employee Training and Its Impact on Retention. Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 7(1), 139-157.
Rob, V., Xiangjun, Y., Marcela, V., Adolfo, B., & Lamon, R. (2014). Youth and agriculture: key challenges and concrete solutions. FAO. Rome, Italy. Retrieved April 30, 2023. https://www.fao.org/3/i3947e/i3947e.pdf. Accessed on 22/07/2024
Rufai, A. M., Ogunniyi, A. I., Salman, K. K., Salawu, M. B., & Omotayo, A. O. (2021). Rural transformation and labour market outcomes among rural youths in Nigeria. Sustainability, 13(24), 13794. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413794. Accessed on 22/07/2024
Shiertzer, B. S., & Stone, S. R. (1998). Introduction to counselling. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Accessed on 22/07/2024
Shu, Y., Li, B., & Zhu, Y. (2021). Optimal control for uncertain discrete-time singular systems under expected value criterion. Fuzzy Optimization and Decision Making, 20, 331-364.
Sodipo, O. O. (2014). Employability of tertiary education graduates in Nigeria: Closing the skills-gap. global journal of human resource management, ‖ European Centre for Research Training and Development UK, 2(3). 28-36
STUTERN (2018). The Nigerian Graduate Report. Lagos: STUTERN.
Sule, O. E., Amuni, S. I., Obasan, K. A., & Banjo, H. A. (2015). Wages and salaries as a motivational tool for enhancing organizational performance. a survey of selected Nigerian workplace. EuroEconomica, 1(34). 7-26
Tight, M. (2023). Employability: a core role of higher education?. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 28(4), 551-571.
Tomlinson, M. (2012). Graduate employability: A review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Education Policy, 25(4), 407-431.
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and Motivation. New York: Wiley.
World Bank (2024). World Bank in Nigeria. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview. Accessed on 22/07/2024
Yami, M., Feleke, S., Abdoulaye, T., Alene, A. D., Bamba, Z., & Manyong, V. (2019). African rural youth engagement in agribusiness: Achievements, limitations, and lessons. Sustainability, 11(1), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010185.
Yulianti, Y., Finanjani, S., kurnia Sari, D., & Asmawati, A. (2023). Career Guidance Helps Students Choose the Right Career Path. Edumaspul: Jurnal Pendidikan, 7(2), 3470-3474.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Edamisan Stephen Ikuemonisan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
