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Strategies for Promoting Entrepreneurship Opportunities in Clothing and Textile Education Alice Nwaokaomah Federal Polytechnic, Oko.
Abstract A possible solution to the problem of unemployment is self-employment of individuals which is the central focus of entrepreneurship. Hence this paper reviewed entrepreneurial opportunities available in clothing and textile, hindrances to entrepreneurship in clothing and textile education, strategies for promoting entrepreneurship am ongst the graduates are also reviewed.
Introduction Entrepreneurship is defined as the process of creating something different with value by devoting the necessary time and assuming the accompanying financial psychic and social risks and reviewing the resulting rewards of most personal satisfactions (Lankford, 2004). Hence, entrepreneurship is about self-reliance creativity and taking risk. Entrepreneurship is the continuous process of utilizing resources to produce new goods and services. Ode (2006), Dabson and Malkin (2003) defined entrepreneurship as a person who makes money by running a business especially when it involves taking financial risk. Entrepreneurship is the continuous process of combing resources to produce new goods and
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services. Ode (2006), Dabson and Malkin (2003) defined an entrepreneur as a person who creates and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of profit. Hornby (2000) defined an entrepreneur as a person who makes money by running a business especially when it involves taking financial risk. An entrepreneur should be self-confident; that is, he or she should believe in himself or herself, be self-reliant, innovative and creative hardworking, be a good setter and be able to take risks from financial investment. In the context of this study, entrepreneurship implies the investment of one’s resources in planning, organizing, implementing, clothing and textile education objectives in order to generate wealth for ones economic survival.
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The goal of entrepreneurial skills education, therefore, is to orient students towards self-reliance if wageearning jobs become inaccessible. However, clothing and textile, which is one of the major areas of Home economic, is studied at tertiary and university level emphasizes skill acquisition for its graduates with a view to enhancing their capability for self-employment ventures. Clothing and textile education is a branch of Home economics education that is concerned with the acquisition and development of practical skills by the beneficiaries. Ossai (2001) noted that clothing and textile is one of the courses offered in Nigeria tertiary institutions. One of the objectives of Nigeria education is to produce skilled person who are able to play effective roles in National economic and technological growth and development (Lemechi, 2001). Clothing and textile as a skilloriented course helps to equip individuals with saleable skills needed for self-reliance. Clothing and textile equip individuals for enormous employment opportunities in occupations relating to clothing and textile namely: Dress making/clothing construction, Designing, Dry cleaning and laundering, Tie-dying and batiking, beauty care and hair dressing, fashion merchandising, pattern illustration etc. The realization of the laudable objectives of clothing and textile education depend largely on the
implementation strategies employed for students to be able to perform adequately in clothing and textile course content should be effectively taught. Anozie (2003) indicated that the extent to which the rate of learning among students or learners generally can be accelerated depends often on the teacher and teaching devices available at his disposal. Anyakoha (2002) remarked that the greatest challenge of Home Economics is to determine those issues that pose various forms of threat to individuals, families and society at large and then address then most appropriately. The society is faced with such problems as increasing unemployment, corruption ad poverty among others. Clothing and textile, which is an aspect of Home Economics, should identify these problems and deal with them decisively. Poverty is regarded as the scarcity of basic human needs, - food, shelter and clothing. Poverty is equally regarded as the inability to attain a minimum standard of living, (Ogbene, 2006). Promoting entrepreneurship with creativity makes room for selfemployment thereby reducing poverty in the society. Clothing and textile encourages the expansion of knowledge and development of the skills by every individual in the society. The aim of clothing and textile is centered on the acquisition of knowledge and skills that can be applied for purposefully living. This paper focuses on some
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entrepreneurial opportunity in clothing and textile, hindrance to entrepreneurial in clothing and textile as well as strategies to improve clothing and textile education entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship opportunities in clothing and textile education Clothing and textile education should equip students in tertiary institutions with saleable skills and thus posses capacity of helping them become selfreliant after graduation for economic empowerment of the family, hence reducing unemployment problems of the country. The entrepreneurship opportunities in clothing and textile education include:
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# Designing: Individuals in this business usually create new designs for garments. There are designers for fabrics/textiles as well as for clothing accessories (Anyakoha, 2007). The graduates of clothing and textile education can engaged themselves in this work for purposeful living. # Dress making/clothing construction: Dress makers are those who design, cut, arrange and sew different components of dresses (Okeke and Anyakoha, 2004). The skills in dressing making are acquired in primary and secondary schools through needlework and through clothing construction classes/fashion and designing classes in tertiary institutions.
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Outside the school programme the skill can be acquired through apprenticeship. According to Ochiagha (1995), this is to be most common method of acquiring the skill. It is one of the sorest ways through which young people can find their way into the labour market. Dry cleaning and laundering: (Anyakoha, 2007), pointed out that dry-cleaners and launderers dry clean launder clothing articles for people. They can engage in the production and selling of cassava starch and home chemicals for stain removal. The graduates of clothing and textile education can involve themselves in dry cleaning and laundering for economic empowerment. Tie-dying and batiking: Graduates of clothing and textile education can do tie-dying and batiking to produce ‘Adire’ and other locally dyed materials to earn a living. They can equally establish tie-dye and batik institute where they can train people. Modeling: Graduates of clothing and textile education can work in fashion industries. He/she wears newly designed dress styles for people to see and buy (Anyakoha, 2007). Beauty care and hair dressing: Beauticians and hair dresses run salons where they take care of people’s hair and perform other beauty treatments, hence beauty
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care and hair dressing is another business venture available in clothing and textile education. # Fashion merchandising: This is another avenue of entrepreneurial opportunity for clothing and textile graduates. They select, buy and sell textile, appeals and other clothing accessories in other to earn their living (Anyakoha, 2007). They can sell cloths ranging from Nigeria wax wrappers materials for chieftaincy wears to materials for sewing coats and other wears for various occasions (Lemechi, 2002). # Pattern illustrators develop paper pattern for sale: (Anyakoha, 2007). Lemchi, (2002) also pointed out that pattern making involves the making of patterns for males and females, children adults alike for sale. # Knitting and crocheting shop: The graduates of clothing and textiles education can engage in kitting and crocheting to earn a living or he/she knit cardigan for both children and adults. Hindrances to entrepreneurial in clothing and textile education In Nigeria, especially in secondary school or tertiary institutions, clothing and textile is taught peripherally without serious efforts on the part of the teachers to make the students proficient in the course (Lemchi, 2001). This could be due to lack of teachers who can teach the subject. Iyere (2002), pointed out that lack of
equipment in the clothing and textile laboratories is a major problem. This makes the teachers and students to concentrate on the theoretical aspect of the course. Some of the equipment provided is not properly taken care of. Ozioko, (2006) listed some school conditions that hinder creativity in students. # Large classes where regimentation is essential instead of effective practical exercises. # The belief of teachers that creative students are hard to manage and their work harder to grade. # Strong emphasis on imitations. # Discouragement of anything outside the prescribed pattern. # Instructional strategies that do not engage students in experimental learning but lead them to observed, interpret, analyze, make and consider consequences. # Teachers strategies that do not contextualize learning to provide students reflection over an extended period of time. # Teachers not serving as facilitators allowing students to construct their knowledge through learning application, action, review and reflection. Funding need of clothing and textile education Funding remains a strong militating factor in provision of study materials; the plague of insufficient textbooks and journals is also a problem. Some textbooks are outdated while others
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are perhaps of foreign background, which may not actually meet our local needs. Strategies to improve clothing and textile entrepreneurship # Okoh (1983), pointed that teachers should respect their students ideas and questions in order to foster creative thinking in them. # Teachers should stress on discovery and exploration for the students. Venter (1997) opined that for individuals to develop their entrepreneurship skills, they should have an unbending confidence in their ability to come up with solutions to business problems. They have to believe that the work can be done; this makes way for creativity solutions. Individuals should learn divergent thinking strategies to enable him or her generate many ideas and critical thinking, skill to enable him evaluate and make choices of suitable ideas for the success of the business undertaking (Hisrich, Peters and 2002). Ozioko (2006), stated that individuals should discover new ways of using existing resources and materials to produce completely new or changed revisions of existing goods and services. The individual should accept his or her own initiative; motivated by problems he or she should be curious and push boundaries of competence. When creativity is inculcated in individuals from their early years of
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education, they will be vibrant in any area of profession they choose. Clothing and textile teachers can be involved in entrepreneurship for selfreliance by teaching individuals how to raise money for living through various tasks and skills in clothing and textile programmes. Flexibility in the thoughts of an individual will help him or her to be receptive to new concepts, ideas, materials and approaches to improve the business. Ekpo (1994), stated that there is need for government to modify educational curriculum so that at an earlier stage, children are taught to be productive and creative. The ability to venture and compete must be installed into children at their early stage as this will auger well for selfreliance, economic growth and for development that is sustainable. Adamu (2000) opined that the training of students should be on turn out individuals who can be self-employed and technically sound professional that can man the clothing and textile industry. Iyere (2000) opined that emphasis should be place on training and retraining of teachers of clothing and textile in our institution of learning. Asuquo (2007) also stated that knowledge of teachers must be updated through further training programmes. Teachers of clothing and textile should be sponsored to their studies especially in this era of rapid technological changes. They should update their knowledge in new trends
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in equipment and machines Asuquo (2007) pointed out that vocational and technical education in which clothing and textile education fall into requires a lot of physical equipment and other infrastructure to thrive. The schools need to carry out regular maintenance on existing equipment so as to keep them in a continuous working condition for effective to take place. Conclusion This paper examined some the entrepreneurial opportunity available in clothing and textile education such as Dress making/clothing construction, designing, Dry cleaning and laundering, Tie-dyeing and batiking, modeling, beauty care and hair dressing fashion merchandising pattern illustration etc. The paper also listed some hindrances to entrepreneurial in clothing and textile education. Lack of equipments in the clothing and textile laboratories, improper funding of the course etc Recommendations # Government should assist in funding the course as well as regular maintenance on the existing equipment so as to keep them in continuous working condition for effective learning. # In view of the problems identified, government should organize training and retraining programmes for clothing and textile teachers.
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buy their own equipment which will be useful in starting off their own business after graduation for economic empowerment. Government and the community where the college is situated should help to build laboratories and purchase equipment for clothing and textile education. Small loan and grants should be given to clothing and textile students, which will enable them to start off any business of their choice after graduation. Practical lessons should be allocated more time so that students will have opportunities to master the skills. Workshops and seminars should be encouraged in clothing and textile education so as to update their knowledge with new trends in equipment and machines.
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