Correlates of Entrepreneurial Skills: An Assessment to College Students Enrolled in Entrepreneurship Course

— One of the objectives of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is to develop a competent and substantial number of entrepreneurs in the economy of the nation. This study described the important skills that entrepreneurship students need to learn: strategic planning, communication, reputation management, financial management, relationship management, and problem solving. The study also described the correlation between the profile of respondents and the important entrepreneurship important skills which are strategic planning, reputation management, financial management, relationship management, and problem solving. This study used the quantitative descriptive research method. There were a total of 132 college students (63 males and 69 females) who were enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship. Gathered data were analyzed through descriptive statistics such as frequency, weighted mean and bivariate correlation.


INTRODUCTION
One of the objectives of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is to develop a competent and substantial number of entrepreneurs in the economy of the nation. Attaining higher rates of economic growth and innovation requires entrepreneurship (Oosterbeek et al., 2010).
Entrepreneurial education will be aimed at equipping entrepreneurs and prospective entrepreneurs with the skills required to meet the complexities of planning and implementing a new business venture (Elmuti et al., 2012).
The subject of entrepreneurship is increasingly being incorporated internationally as a core component of higher education (Heikkinen& Stevenson, 2016). Entrepreneurship education has had a positive effect on career-related outcomes (Solomon & Matlay, 2008). Graduates in all types of employment situations may benefit from entrepreneurial experience, in particular skills in management and leadership (Frank, 2007).
The leadership skills that could be built to potentiate the students ' entrepreneurial potential while leading their teams have been defined by the entrepreneurs and classified as skills in entrepreneurship, management and leadership (Sousa, 2018). In order to build and promote supply and entrepreneurship in youth programs and events, education should be refined (Undiyaundeye & Otu, 2015).
In lieu of these insights, the researcher would like to assess the college students enrolled in entrepreneurship course and correlate their entrepreneurial skills.

II. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Entrepreneurs need to learn the skills needed to access additional venture capital, and they should learn how to choose from a variety of investment approaches that can affect their chances of success (Cooney, 2012).
Integrating the development of entrepreneurship skills into the university curriculum would give students the ability to integrate and organize all business management components, and will also encourage entrepreneurial mentality and empower students to set up their business projects on graduation (Emaikwu, 2011).
Direct selling, which is included in the curriculum of Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship, highly develops marketing skills for students that act as a bridge for students into the entrepreneurial world (Santos, 2020).

III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This studydescribed the important skills that entrepreneurship students need to learn: strategic planning, communication, reputation management, financial management, relationship management, and problem solving. The study also described the correlation between the profile of respondents and the important entrepreneurship important skills which are strategic planning, reputation management, financial management, relationship management, and problem solving.

IV. METHODOLOGY
This study used the quantitative descriptive research method, as it is often paired with compare and contrast calculation, description, interpretation, and evaluation (Stone et al., 2008). The researcher distributed survey questionnaires which adapted Likert-scale type responses (Vagias, 2006) to a total of 132 collegestudents (63 males and 69 females) who were enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship.Gathered data were analyzed through descriptive statistics such as frequency, weighted mean and bivariate correlation.    Table 3 presents the relationship management skills of the respondents which showed that respondents got a general weighted mean of 2.98 which has a verbal interpretation of "Agree". The respondents showed that they get others to support their recommendations (mean = 3.17) and, also, that they are concerned with the feedbacks from others (mean = 3.14). This imply that the respondents' skill in relationship management is present. The respondents consider other people as necessary part of their journey as future entrepreneurs.  Table 4 shows the problem solving skills of the respondents. The result showed that the respondents got a general weighted mean of 3.16 which has a verbal interpretation of "Agree". The respondents strongly agreed that they deal with problems as they arise, rather than spend time trying to anticipate them (mean = 3.36), and, also, they strongly agreed that they prefer situations in which I can control the outcomes as much as possible (mean = 3.33). Based on the results, this may imply that problem solving skill is present showing that the respondents were able to handle problems and make decisions.   /dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijaers.78.30  ISSN: 2349-6495(P) | 2456-1908(O) www.ijaers.com Page | 284  Table 5 shows the reputation management skills of the respondents where they got a general weighted mean of 3.42 and a verbal interpretation of "Strongly Agree". To emphasize, the respondents strongly agreed that they care for the person in a non-judgmental way (mean = 3.42). This result shows that the respondents were able to manage their reputations as a skill of an entrepreneur which pertains to holding one's integrity.  Table 6 shows the financial management skills of the respondents. Based on the result, respondents got a general weighted mean of 3.22 and a verbal interpretation of "Agree". The respondents strongly agreed that they only buy the things I need the most (mean = 3.39). Further, they also strongly agreed that they save money from their allowance (mean = 3.31) and they keep financial goal plans (3.27). This result implies that respondents show skills in managing their finances which were shown in handling their money and budget based their plans and to keep it on record.   /dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijaers.78.30  ISSN: 2349-6495(P) | 2456-1908(O) www.ijaers.com Page | 285  Table 7 shows the significant relationship between and among the respondents' profile and their entrepreneurial skills. Result shows that a positive significant relationship was found between family business and strategic planning (r=.643), relationship management (r=.597), problem solving (r=.666), and financial management (r=.643), all at p<.01. The results imply that if the respondents have a family business they have more skills in strategic planning, relationship management, problem solving, and financial management as compared to those respondents who do not have a family business. A positive significant relationships were also found between strategic planning and relationship management (r=.543), problem solving (r=.618), and financial management (r=.543) at p<.01. These mean that the higher the skills of the respondents in strategic planning is the higher they also have the skills in relationship management, problem solving and financial management. Likewise, positive correlations were present between relationship management and problem solving (r=.543) and reputation management (r=.618) at p<.01 stating that the higher the skills in relationship management is the higher skills in problem solving and reputation management the respondents have. Same with, positive significant relationship found between problem solving and reputation management (r=.802, p<.01). On the other hand, a negative correlation was found between sex and financial management (r=-.195, p<.05) which implies that male respondents have higher financial management skills as compared to female respondents.

VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Entrepreneurial skills were determined among college students who are taking up BS in Entrepreneurship course and how these were related to the students' personal profile. Based on the result, it was concluded that Financial Management skill was the highest among the entrepreneurial skills that the students have. On the other hand, Relationship Management skill was least skills the students have. Having family business has a significant relationship to the entrepreneurial skills that the students must possess. Sex of the respondents was also related to financial management wherein males are more skilled in financial management.
In lieu of the foregoing conclusions, it was recommended that students should not only focus on developing in one skills only to become an entrepreneur as they graduate from their course. In relation, the school must provide an assessment as to the student's skills and aptitude is aligned to the course, BS Entrepreneurship, they will take. Though, having a family business matters in developing such skills as entrepreneur, not all students came from a family that can afford to manage a business. It is recommended that in substitute, there must be a training ground for students to develop the needed skills by providing programs and partnerships to entrepreneurial agencies. Finally, further studies is recommended to determine other factors that contribute to the development of the entrepreneurial skills among the BS Entrepreneurship students.