Dissonance In Employability Social Skills Of Social Studies Undergraduates And The World Of Work In Nigeria

The study investigated the level of employability social skills of undergraduates in Nigeria using Social Studies undergraduates in the Delta State University, Abraka as a case study. Qualitative research design with simple random sampling technique was employed for the study. The population of the study comprised of the two hundred and thirty-two (232) undergraduate Social Studies students of 200 to 400 levels, from which a sample size of fifty (50) students was drawn. Unstructured questions and in depth interview was the methods of data collection, while the researcher was the instrument for data collection; data collection and analysis were done concurrently. Findings of the study revealed that Social Studies undergraduates of Delta State University have a good level of few social employability social skills such as communication skills and empathy skills. However, the findings also showed that participants do not possess critical employability social skills such as interpersonal, problem solving, conflict resolution and creative survival skills which are needed to survive in a working environment. The findings in this study also have implications for all undergraduates of other disciplines in Nigerian universities. The study therefore recommended that school curriculum at the university level should be developed to imbibe social skills into undergraduates to make them employable, for them to be able to develop a career for themselves.