APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING EFFECTS ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES

The study examines the effects of apprenticeship training on entrepreneurship development in developing economies: A case study of Nigerian apprenticeship system. The study seeks to ascertain how apprentices acquire technical and entrepreneurial skills for selfemployment; assess the extent to which apprentices acquire entrepreneurial skills and knowledge for entrepreneurship development, and also identify the challenges encountered by apprentices in course of skill acquisition. The study adopted the survey design and interview apprentices in specific vocations. The sampled data were analyzed using Chi-square technique on Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS v.20). Experts from the academia and industry validated the instrument. The results reveal that: apprentices acquire technical and entrepreneurial skills for self-employment through formal and informal apprenticeship training systems; Lack of qualified manpower, insufficient training tools, inadequate infrastructure facilities and lack of start-up capital impede the course of skill acquisition and apprentices do ultimately acquire sufficient entrepreneurial skills and knowledge for entrepreneurship development. The study recommends that the government should provide physical, financial, and moral support for apprenticeship training to boost entrepreneurship development.