ENHANCING SELF-EMPLOYABILITY OF OFFICE AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT STUDENTS VIA INFOPRENEURSHIP SKILL ACQUISITION IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This paper theoretically examined how the inclusion of infopreneurship studies in school curriculum could enhance tertiary institution’s graduate employment especially graduates of Office and Information Management (OIM).  It explored how infopreneurship studies in the curriculum could empower students with skills that enable them to be self-reliant upon graduation. The main aim was to theoretically examine how to enhance the self-employability of (OIM) graduates via infopreneurship skill acquisition in tertiary institutions in Rivers State. The paper anchored on the Discovery and Opportunity Theory of Entrepreneurship developed by Schumpeter in (1999).  Since Infopreneurs are also  information entrepreneurs, they perform the same functions though in a different way, we believe that this theory is the most appropriate.  A conceptual review method was employed, relying on existing empirical studies and recent academic literatures relevant to infopreneurship/entrepreneurship. Findings revealed that infopreneurial skills like content creation, digital marketing and being technological savvy enable employment generation. The paper concludes that the inclusion of infopreneurship studies in the course program of universities especially in Office and Information Management course content will enhance self-employability of its graduates. It therefore recommends that infopreneurship education be included in university curriculum in other to reduce unemployment and increasing social vices occasioned by graduate unemployment.