Perceived soft skills needs of agriculture students in public universities in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the perceived soft skills needs of agriculture students in public universities in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The population of the study is 11,283 agriculture undergraduate students in the 12 public universities in states in the Niger Delta geo-political zone. The sample size was 300 agriculture undergraduate students. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select the sample. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire. Percentage and mean were used for analysis. Results revealed that the majority of the respondents (97.2%) could communicate effectively; 96% had a good sense of humour; 95.6% possessed the ability to cope with new changes; 92% possessed the ability to meet responsibilities on time; 89.6% possessed problem-solving skills. The results also revealed that agriculture students need many soft skills; some of which are creative thinking skills (x̄ =3.51), teamwork skills (x̄ =3.50); problem-solving/decision-making skills (x̄ =3.48); and leadership/management skills (x̄ ==3.47) among others. The universities should establish 6-month to 1-year student internship programmes, which will enable agriculture students to fully understand professional soft skills such as teamwork, creative thinking skills, and time management, among others that are relevant to the establishment and sustainability of agro-based enterprises.