Abstract

This study examined the pedagogical and analytical/problem-solving competencies required of Business Education graduates of Colleges of Education for sustainable employability in North-East, Nigeria, and the strategies for enhancing such employability. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The population comprised Business Education graduates and their employers across the six states of the North-East geopolitical zone (Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe). A sample of 414 respondents (318 graduates and 96 employers) was drawn using multistage sampling. A structured questionnaire, validated by three experts and yielding a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.87, was used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation answered the research questions, while the t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that pedagogical competencies (lesson planning, instructional delivery, classroom management, assessment literacy and digital pedagogy), analytical/problem-solving competencies (data interpretation, critical thinking, decision-making and entrepreneurial problem solving), and a set of enhancement strategies were all rated as required for sustainable employability. The null hypotheses were not rejected, indicating no significant difference between the mean responses of graduates and employers. The study concluded that competency-based curriculum reform, sustained industry linkage and digital up-skilling are central to graduate employability. It recommended periodic curriculum review, structured work-integrated learning and capacity building for lecturers.