Impact of Educational Guidance and Counselling Programmes on Entrepreneurship Skills Acquisition of Youths in Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State

Educational guidance and counselling play a vital role in shaping the entrepreneurial mindset of youths. To this end, the Study was centred on guidance and counselling programmes on entrepreneurship skills acquisition of youths. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The study utilized three objectives and three research questions, the population of the study comprised 230 final year students of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Nigeria and University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The researcher used the entire population of 230; hence consensus sampling. The instrument for data collection was a well-structured questionnaire titled: Guidance and Counselling Programmes Entrepreneurship Skills Acquisition of Youth Questionnaire (GCPESAYQ). The instrument was validated by three experts in Measurement and Evaluation at Federal University of Technology, Nigeria. The reliability of the instrument established using Cronbach Alpha, a radiality co-efficient of 0.84 was obtained, which showed that the instrument was reliable. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions. The study reviewed that guidance and counselling ensures to a high extent the development of entrepreneurship skills by students in tertiary institutions in Rivers State. It was recommended among others that Lecturers should offer career exploration and guidance to help students identify entrepreneurial career paths that align with their interest and skills.