IMPACT OF ENTERPRENEURSI{IP EDUCATION ON SELF EMPLOYEMENT INTENTION OF SCHOOL LEAVERS IN BATTICALOA DISTRICT

Abstract

A purpose of this study is to identify the school leavers' entrepreneurial characteristics and the relationship between those characteristics and self-employment intension to solve existing problems of unemployment. And find out to what extent the respondents have become an entrepreneur. Both primary and secondary data were used to conduct the study. To collect the primary data self-administered questionnaire was applied. Multi-stage simple random sampling technique used to select the study respondents. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics tools. Findings revealed that the education system has highly facilitated to develop the entrepreneurial skills through VTC to the school leavers. But considerable amount of school leavers have no high level of idea to become an entrepreneur. Finally the study investigated impact of entrepreneurship education was stimulate on the self-employment intention. Further it was revealed that scanning and search, association and connection, evaluation and judgment, risk perception, and risk propensity positively and negatively affected to the self-employment intention. For the development as well as for a solution for the unemployment, entrepreneurship education is giving more job opportunities. Hence this study was provided awareness into entrepreneurship education as to which entrepreneurial characteristics can be developed to raise good entrepreneurs. Further educational systems need to be re-oriented to emphasize and value entrepreneurship in order to popular an enterprise culture among the unemployed people. The quantitative study conducted based on primary data which were collected among 2Q0 employees by using self-administrated questionnaire and five point Likert's scale was assigned to measure the variables. The collected data were analyses by using univariate, bivariate and multivariate technique in a computer based Statistical Package for the Social Science 25th version software. The objectives of this paper are to assess the levels of scanning and search, association and connection, evaluation and judgment, risk perception, risk propensity and self employment intention and to examine the relationships among these concepts. In addition to that, identify the in the relationship between scanning and self-employment intention, connection and self-employment intention, evaluation and self-employment intention, risk perception and self-reemployment intention as well as risk propensity and self-employment intention. Based on the findings of the study, this research concludes that scanning and search, association and connection, evaluation and judgment, risk propensity and self employment intention are in a higher level, risk perception is in low level. As well, there are moderate positive and significant relationship between scanning and self employment intention, connection and self-employment intention, evaluation and self employment intention, risk perception and self-employment intention. And this study also concludes that there is a high positive relationship between risk propensity and self-employment intention.