Abstract:
The problem of graduate underemployment in Nigeria is traceable to a number of factors among which is inappropriate curricula being used in the tertiary institutions without so much of empirical support for curricula innovation. This study therefore was carried out to find out how personality traits, graduates employment search behaviour, gender role stereotypes and curriculum outcomes compared with levels of difficulty in employment efforts of Nigerian tertiary institution graduates. The samples were 361 tertiary institution graduates who responded to five questionnaires under the five variables used in the study. The result of the study showed that differences exist in levels of difficulty experienced by different groups of tertiary institution graduates in their self employment efforts, as influenced by personality traits, graduates employment search behaviour, gender role stereotypes and curriculum outcomes. Effective interaction between the variables and self employment efforts of Nigerian underemployment threatened tertiary institution graduates was also revealed. The study provides some support to the notion that self-reliant aspects of the investigated independent variable can make for easy self employment efforts of tertiary institution graduates. The curricula of tertiary institutions are therefore recommended for innovations in order to accommodate these variables which influence their employment search behaviour.

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Kolawole, C.O.O.; Arikpo, P.A. (2008). Predicators of self-employment efforts among unemployed Nigerian graduates. Journal of Sociology and Education in Africa. Vol.7(1) pp.121-135.