Research
ENTREPRENEURIAL INTERVENTIONISM AND CHALLENGES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA
Although policy makers and practitioners are aware of the importance of entrepreneurship in reducing unemployment among the Nigerian youths they have failed to give it the deserved attention. This paper examines the impact of viewing enterpreneurship as a platform towards reducing youth unemployment which currently stands at 55 percent. It examines some of the major factors/constraints which hinder an enterpreneurship culture. It concludes by proposing some strategies that promote effective enterpreneurship.
Consumer Perceptions About Fast Food Restaurants In Asaba
The fast food culture is fast expanding in Nigeria. Much of that is attributable to the increasing affluence, rapid urbanization, and changing life sytles among Nigerians. Although many of the fastfood chains offer similar or undifferentiated products the way and manner their services are provided are critical to gaining competitive edge. In Asaba the Delta State capital, experience has shown that as one new fast food outlet opens shop some of the old ones close, thereby suggesting a “revolving door syndrome†in the fast food industry. This paper therefore, sought to assess the perceptions of customers about service quality in selected fast food restaurants in Asaba. A total of 180 customers were randomly selected and administered a 22 – item structured questionnaire out of which 120 were found useable. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the range of products, availability and consistency of products as well as packaging significantly affect customer perception about service quality at .001. Gender and price do not affect customer perceptions about quality of service. The findings further showed that customers patronize fast food for the change and not because of nutritional value. Therefore fast food is not yet perceived as a clear alternative to homemade cooking. Major recommendation is for fast food chains to improve on the nutritional value of their products.
ENTERPRENEURSHIP AND YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA: THE MISSING LINK
This paper examines youth unemployment in Nigeria and attributed the high unemployment to the disconnect between effective technical/vocational education and the development of an enterpreneurship culture. It proposed a drastic shift in policy from incremental curriculum to scientific and technical one that will promote student-centered learning with input from the private sector to reduce the present mismatch between labour demands and acquired skills. It concludes by proposing some strategies that can sustain an enterpreneural culture and reduction in youth unemployment.
