Assessment of Vocational Business Skills Among Graduates of Business Education in Kogi State Polytechnic

This study assessed the vocational business skills among graduates of Business Education at Kogi State Polytechnic, North Central Nigeria. With the growing demand for technically skilled business professionals in Nigeria emerging economy, there is an urgent need to evaluate whether polytechnic business education programmes are producing graduates who meet industry standards. Kogi State, as a centrally located state with expanding commercial activities, provides a relevant context for examining the alignment between programme outcomes and labor market expectations. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised 260 HND Business Education graduates from the polytechnic who had completed their programmes within the last three academic sessions. One hundred and thirty graduates were selected through systematic random sampling. A structured questionnaire validated by vocational education experts was used to collect data. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions, while analysis of variance was employed to test the hypotheses. Findings indicate that graduates possess moderate levels of skills in office management and business correspondence but exhibit low competency in digital marketing, financial planning, and data management. The study recommends that the Kogi State Polytechnic curriculum committee should conduct a comprehensive review to integrate current vocational business competencies, and that mandatory industry attachment periods should be extended to at least six months to enhance practical skills development. Keywords: vocational business skills, graduates, business education, polytechnic, Kogi State