INFLUENCE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION SKILLS IN PROMOTING SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALE ENTERPRISES IN NORTHWESTERN GEO-POLITICAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

 This study was carried out to determine the influence of business education skills in promoting Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in North-Western Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. The study had five specific objectives which aimed at determining: how book-keeping/accounting skills influence the success of SMEs, the ways through which marketing skills influence the success of SMEs, how office technology and management skills influence the survival of SMEs, how leadership skills influence the success of SMEs and the ways in which business management skills influence the survival of SMEs. Five research questions were raised and answered. Five null hypotheses were also formulated and tested. The survey research design was adopted for the study and a self-designed four-point rating scale questionnaire was used to collect the data. The population of the study was 1,014 consisting of all the owners and employees of all the registered SMEs providing computer services in North-Western States of Nigeria.

Six hundred and nine (609) respondents were randomly selected for the study. The data collected were analysed using Statistical tools. Percentages were used to analyse the demographic variables of the respondents, while research questions were answered using mean scores. Any item with mean score of 2.50 or above as well as a research question with a grand mean of 2.50 or above was accepted, otherwise rejected. Furthermore, all the five null hypotheses were tested using t-test, at alpha 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of the study revealed that effective xvi use of book-keeping/accounting, marketing, office technology and management, leadership and business management skills influenced the success and survival of SMEs. To ensure effective application of business education skills by SMEs operators and their employees, it was recommended that SMEs owner as well as their employees should strive toward the acquisition and effective application of business education skills, the government should, through the relevant ministries and agencies organise training/workshop for SMEs operators, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and development partners should also help in training the SMEs operators and their employees and the score card of the SMEs in terms of how they apply the business education skills should be a pre-requisite for their ability to secure financial assistance. It was concluded that for SMEs to get out of some of their problem and continue to be in operation and successful, they must be making use of business education skills.