The major activity of the EDC is the co-ordination and teaching of the practical aspects of entrepreneurship. The practical field programme commenced in the second semester, 2016/2017 academic session. The vocational skills training concentrated on the following areas from which students chose a skill of interest:

Horticulture; poultry; piggery; snail production; bakery; aquaculture; cloth dyeing/textile making; fruit juice extraction/bottling; honey production and bacon production; public speaking/ analysis, preferably for students in the faculty of agriculture; Plumbing; domestic electrical wiring; brick-making, metal work/fabrication; ceramic production; refrigeration and air-conditioner maintenance, public speaking/analysis, brick making; landscaping, feasibility studies/project appraisals; housing/estate development; GSM mask distribution and configuration; public speaking preferably for engineering and environmental sciences students; Outreach legal services, street law/pro-bono services; legal drafting; photography/media coverage; interior decoration, public speaking preferably for law students; Production of scouring powder for washing of plates, pots and kitchen sink; cloth dyeing/textile making; car wash production, toilet cleaner; glass cleaner; antiseptic disinfectant; air freshener, website design and public speaking for science students; Electrical wiring; metal works/fabrication; basic computer training/maintenance; paper production; plumbing, business plan; photography/media coverage; interior decoration; Business plan; feasibility studies; photography/media coverage, website creation, film production, volunteering (placement), social media skills, public speaking for all other students in the various faculties.

Thus, the EDC had produced from among the student population fashion designers, Videographers, Welders, Seasoned Caterers, students with skills in Interior and Exterior decoration, Brick Making, Fabrication works, Website Creation, Soap Making, Photography, Domestic Electrical Wiring, Refrigerator and Air Conditioner Repairs, Plumbing, GSM Repairs, Poultry, Fisheries, Landscaping, Public Speaking etc. The practical skills training programme is offered by all undergraduate students across faculties in the second semester of their third year except for the Faculty of Science which offers the course in the first semester also at the 300 level.   

The vocational skills training programme of the Centre is being facilitated by a private sector company – Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre Ltd (E & I). E & I is a company that specializes in business incubation; Entrepreneurship training/development and skills acquisition. University management, on behalf of the Centre, signed a “Contract of Agreement” with the company specifically for the company to provide: (1)Entrepreneurial skills training; 2) Business development services; (3)Access to finance markets, technical competence and linkages; and (4) IGR for the University.  Thus, the EDC through its collaboration with E & I Centre Ltd implements the Entrepreneurship training and practical vocational skills programme of the Centre. It is worth pointing out that engagement of the private sector company is in line with the NUC BMAS for undergraduate programme in Nigerian Universities – GST Entrepreneurship (2011) which requires the practical aspects to be taught by “guest lecturers and successful business persons within the vicinity of the University’’.

Despite the vocational skills training from which our students had benefited, truth must be told that a good number of them, on graduation, are unlikely to eke out a living as entrepreneurs. Many are likely to look for paid employment in the labour market. However, as it is the case with most Nigerian graduates, entering the job market after completing a University degree can be a challenging task, especially in the current competitive global economic context. To improve our students’ chances of getting the desired job, he/she must be equipped not only with the technical competences (i.e., the hard skills acquired in his chosen career) but also the “Soft Skills” that are critical to succeed in the global market place. Soft skills, also known as non-technical competences or employability skills, are skills that characterizes traits or interpersonal aptitudes that affect one’s ability to work and interact with others. From experience, fresh graduates seeking employment in most reputable organizations are exposed to aptitude test and interviews. These tests and interview sessions are designed around soft skills which these graduates, in most cases, were not exposed to in the course of their training in school. It is for this reason that the EDC, effective from the 2019/2020 academic session shifted focus to making our graduates more competitive in the labour market through enhancing their employability skills. These skills which are taught alongside the existing vocational skills training include: Public Speaking, Team work, Adaptability, Conflict Management, Creativity, Work Ethics, Leadership, Attention to detail, Business Etiquette, Presentation skills, Emotional Intelligence.

The teaching of these skills is handled by practicing entrepreneurs and other resource persons sourced from the private sector by our Partners at the Centre the Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) Centre Ltd. It is our hope at the EDC that the acquisition of soft skills by our students would make them to be job-ready and adapt to the economic reality of the society seamlessly after graduation.

The prospects of the Centre, designed to be self sustained, are bright. Apart from the students training, the activities of the Centre shall be business-wise. The Centre should operate a bakery, car wash, fashion design outfit to produce hat, bags, leather work, shoes, beads, wire necklace etc. All items produced should be commercialized and sold for income to the Centre. It  should also produce all the exercise note books for the primary, secondary and students at the University level. The Centre’s photographic, film and documentary unit should cater for all the photographic, film and documentaries of the university. Same should be true of the printing and publication press Unit to be established under the Centre. The Centre’s bakery unit should produce all the breads and confectionary requirement within the university and her environs. As a business outfit, the Centre collaborates with government agencies and business organizations in income-yielding ventures. The Centre should produce the school uniforms for pupil and students in the University primary and secondary schools respectively. Already, a proposal had been sent to the University for the establishment of an RSU FASHION VILLAGE to be domiciled at the EDC Complex. The proposed project which is designed to provide employment for our undergraduate students and, indeed, our graduates and Rivers youths in the Fashion/Design Industry was actually motivated by the very high interest shown by our student trainees in this skill-set over the past five years of running the practical entrepreneurship training programme. An RSU FASHION VILLAGE when established would fulfill the following objectives:

i) To promote teaching and learning for students and the RSU community; ii) As an income stream for the University and sustainable livelihood skill for the students; iii) Develop fashion designers which would include youths, young women and people living with disabilities; iv) Bring about more participation of youths and graduates in fashion design and garments production; v) Provide training and immediate employment for qualified tailors to start working and earning an income; vi) Participants can move to owning major fashion and design outfits and become employers of labour. Vii) Inspire youths to find fashion and design a profitable and lucrative venture.

Happily, there is a ready facility at the Tetfund-sponsored Entrepreneurship Development Centre complex – a 300 – sitting capacity Hall-that could be utilized to house this project. An RSU FASHION VILLAGE project has the potential to provide our students/graduates and, indeed, Rivers youths with fashion skills that would engender mass production of clothing for industries, individuals and schools. Our Staff School and the International Secondary School will have all school uniforms made at the fashion village. Individuals who usually travel to Aba to have their clothes sown would probably have to cut cost and getting the same value for their money here. The RSU FASHION VILLAGE promises to be a viable project that would not only enhance teaching and learning but would also shore up our University’s internally generated revenue.

CONCLUSION 

Within its short period of existence, the Centre had been able to actualize its core mandate of students’ entrepreneurship training and practical vocational skill programme. It has also put in place the necessary structures to shore up internally generated revenue for the University. It is hoped that when the Centre building is completed, the EDC, with continued existing management support, will be better positioned to realize its vision of providing opportunities for students of the university and members of the public.  The Centre should proffer the capacity or opportunity for students to acquire and use entrepreneurial skills to help solve the problems of the Niger Delta. Besides, the region’s abundant resources would be skillfully utilized to create wealth and contribute substantially towards economic development and wealth sustenance for the nation.