Entrepreneurship as a means for restructuring employment patterns

Abstract

The growing numbers of youth seeking to enter the labor market place great pressure on educational institutions to reshape curricula, equip graduates with the right skills and qualifications, and reconcile the discrepancies between educational programs and labor market needs. Most new graduates join the labor market by accepting positions in government (public) or private sector organizations. Few of them undertake entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial intention has been a dynamic field of study due to the job and career creation it involves and economic development it spurs as a result. The present study assessed receptiveness for entrepreneurship and the factors affecting entrepreneurial intentions among students in the Tourism Department of Sultan Qaboos University (College of Arts and Social Sciences), located in the Sultanate of Oman. Based on a survey of 36 students, findings reveal that the respondents are considering and interested in entrepreneurship and that pull and push factors influence and shape their entrepreneurial intentions. Reducing barriers and increasing support for students to pursue self-employment versus traditional public or private sector employment would increase opportunities for graduates to successfully join the regional, national, and international workforce, consequently easing the individual and national strain of unemployment.