Entrepreneurial Skills and Job Creation Among Graduates of State-Owned Tertiary Institution in Kano State: Moderating Effect of Opportunity Recognition

Abstract

This study examines how entrepreneurial skills entrepreneurial attitude, innovation, and risk-taking influence job creation among graduates of state-owned tertiary institutions in Kano State, Nigeria, and investigates whether opportunity recognition moderates these relationships. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Data were collected from 384 entrepreneurial graduates of three state-owned tertiary institutions in Kano State using structured questionnaires. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test direct and moderating effects. Entrepreneurial attitude, risk-taking, and innovation all significantly predict job creation. Opportunity recognition directly predicts job creation and significantly moderates the relationships between innovation and job creation and entrepreneurial attitude and job creation. However, opportunity recognition does not significantly moderate the risk-taking–job creation relationship. The model explains 60.4% of variance in job creation. Entrepreneurship education should integrate opportunity recognition training alongside skill development, particularly for enhancing the employment outcomes of innovation and entrepreneurial attitude. Policy interventions targeting graduate unemployment should prioritize experiential learning, market scanning, and feasibility assessment modules. This study is among the first to empirically test opportunity recognition as a moderator of multiple entrepreneurial skill dimensions on graduate job creation in Northern Nigeria, resolving inconsistencies in prior literature and providing context-specific evidence for curriculum and policy design.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Skills, Opportunity Recognition, Job Creation, Graduate