The Puzzle of Management Graduands Unemployment in Sri Lanka; Entrepreneurship Education as a Way Forward

Abstract

This study's main objective was to study entrepreneurship education's impact on reducing unemployment among management graduates in Sri Lanka. According to the available data of the University Grants Commission, students in the Management stream have a considerably high rate of unemployment than students in other streams. This is one of the timely problems that should be solved immediately since this has a direct influence on poverty, hunger, economic growth, and good health and wellbeing. Although several scholars have attempted to study the impact of entrepreneurship education on unemployment, none of these studies directly links entrepreneurship education and unemployment with sustainable development. According to the University Grants Commission Reports, the study population consisted of approximately 19562 graduands. Four hundred people were selected as the sample per Krejcie and Morgan's table, and the stratified random sampling technique was employed in selecting the sample. A previously developed questionnaire was used to collect data. Regression analysis was used to find the impact of entrepreneurship education on reducing management graduands' unemployment in Sri Lanka. According to the findings, entrepreneurship education significantly impacts the reduction of management graduands' unemployment in Sri Lanka. Entrepreneurship education can reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth, boost innovation, and enhance social and environmental sustainability by reducing unemployment. The paper concluded by offering the importance of recognizing entrepreneurship education to solve the unemployment puzzle.