13th Annual International Management Conference Proceeding

Response in Percentage
influenced performance. However, the recognition that the training played a greater role in business
improvement and growth shows the significance of training over the other factors. The training prepared the
entrepreneurs to recognize and utilize the other factors for business improvement. For instance, one may not
be able to discover or identify an existing opportunity or gap in the market or know how to make and design
a quality product unless he/she has related skills, which in most cases can be obtained through training.
Therefore, training enhances the confidence and opens chances for the entrepreneur to recognize and utilize
these other factors for better business performance. This means that all the factors identified together with
the training work in a complimentary manner for any business improvement to take place.
The Adequacy of the Skills provided to Business Improvement and Growth
On the adequacy of the skills provided (Figure 2), results indicated that, 27% indicated that the skills were
very adequate to the improvement and growth of their businesses. 70% of the respondents felt that the skills
were adequate while 3% of the respondents felt that the skills provided were inadequate.
Concerning the satisfaction and meeting of their training needs, 60% of all the respondent felt that their
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
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F igure 2: B ar-C hart showing R espondents'P erceptions on the A dequacy of the
S kills P rovided.
V ery A de quate A dequate N ot A dequate
training needs were adequately satisfied and met while 40% of the respondents indicated that their training
needs were partly satisfied/met. Where some of the training needs were not met, it could be because there
was no needs assessment carried out as basis for designing the training programme and this could be a major
weakness where all the real business problems and opportunities of individual entrepreneurs were not
addressed. As Gibb (1991), argues, entrepreneurship training requires a business like and entrepreneurial
approach which involves careful assessment of the needs and characteristics of small businesses and
entrepreneurs to be trained at different stages of growth which should be a basis for designing the training
programmes.
Overall Assessment of the Training Programme
In the overall assessment of the training programme (Figure 3), 33% of the respondents felt that the training
programme was very good, 50% of the respondents rated it as good. Only 17% of the respondents described
it as average. It is interesting to note that despite the absence of a needs assessment before the training
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S k ills Adeq uacy