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Journal of Enterprising Culture

Vol. 17, No. 1 (March 2009) 103125

ENTREPRENEURIAL INCLINATIONS OF VOCATIONAL

EDUCATION STUDENTS: A COMPARATIVE
STUDY OF MALE AND FEMALE TRAINEES IN
IRINGA REGION, TANZANIA
DONATH R. OLOMI and ROSE S. SINYAMULE
University of Dar es Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre (UDEC)
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
olomi@fcm.udsm.ac.tz

This study examined entrepreneurial inclinations among vocational training centres (VTCs) using a sample of 508 trainees from 12 VTCs in Iringa region, central
Tanzania. A majority of VTC trainees have interest in starting own businesses,
motivated primarily by the need to have control over their own lives. While gender
and having taken entrepreneurship courses have no significant effects on start-up
inclinations, perceived chances of getting a job and background of entrepreneurial
family are positively associated with interest in entrepreneurial intention. Results
suggest a need to re-examine entrepreneurship training in VET and for policy
makers to be careful in promoting entrepreneurship as an alternative career for
those unable to secure paid jobs.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; vocational education; entrepreneurial aspirations.

INTRODUCTION
Background
Many African countries, including Tanzania envisage to create a strong,
diversified, resilient and competitive economy that can cope with the
challenges of the regional and global economy. Many countries are also
committed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for reducing poverty, hunger, diseases, illiteracy, environmental degradation and
Director

and Senior Lecturer, University of Dar es Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre

(UDEC), P. O. Box 110099 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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discrimination against women by 2015. All governments recognize Micro,

Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as key to attaining these goals.
MSMEs constitute a significant part of the private sector and are expected to
be the driving force for job creation, industrialization and economic development.
Since SMEs tend to be labour-intensive, they create employment at relatively low levels of investment per job created. At present, unemployment
is a significant problem that many African countries have to deal with. In
Tanzania, estimates show that there are about 700,000 new entrants into the
labour force every year. About 500,000 of these are school leavers with few
marketable skills. The public sector employs only about 40,000 of the new
entrants into the labour market, leaving about 660,000 to join the unemployed or the underemployed reserve. Most of these persons end up in the
SME sector, and especially in the informal sector (URT, 2003).
Empirical evidence shows that almost all of those who start businesses in
the informal sector remain at the micro level. Their businesses are not able to
generate sufficient income and growth to contribute meaningfully to poverty
reduction, wealth creation, and competitiveness of the economy as well as a
viable tax base. Despite the existence of many natural resources as well as a
large market for some products and services, micro and small enterprises in
some countries, including Tanzania, are unable to take advantage of these to
grow. For example, local companies are unable to provide the consistency,
volumes and quality demanded by large and consistency the market for
furniture in the public and private sector
One of the most debilitating constraints is limited awareness and capacity
of existing and potential business operators, in terms of exposure, values,
attitudes, knowledge and skills. The result is that they most simply duplicate
what their neighbours are doing and do not appreciate the importance of
innovation, quality, credibility and customer-care. Consequently, most of the
requirements in the public and private sector are imported from abroad. These
include furniture in both government and non-government institutions, food
and many other supplies in the mining, tourism and manufacturing sectors,
etc. This is unfortunate a country, such as Tanzania, where export capacity
is limited and where so much human resources is under-employed.
One of the reasons for this state of affairs is that the education and training
system does not consciously develop values, attitudes and skills that enable
people to see and realize the potentials around them. It has been reported that
one of the reasons for limited upward mobility is that most operators start
businesses because of economic necessity (Olomi, 2001). Operators are just
hanging on on these activities, rather than having committed themselves to
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Entrepreneurial Inclinations of Vocational Education Students

do it as a career. The fact that they have been pushed into business affects the
MSE sector participants self-perception, future intentions and behaviours.
In relation to SME operators in Tanzania, Toroka and Wenga (1997) have
observed that:
Many believe that they are in the MSE sector by failure,
if not of their own, then that of the state, or worse that of fate.
Few attach value to what they are doing. If asked for their
preferences, a majority would rather be employed in some
formal establishment. This is most clearly expressed by what
they wish for their children. Many owner-managers in the
MSE sector in Tanzania are anxious that their children attain
higher levels of education so that they may be spared life in
the sector. They do not regard their business as an estate to
be hatched for the day their children could take over (p. 25).
In relation to their entrepreneurial behaviour, Oyhus (1999) has noted that
they are neither risk-taking nor opportunity seekers. Regarding innovation,
they are almost uniformly copyists and when they do something new (such
as starting a business) it is because they are forced to do so. Only a very small
minority develop positive motivation and adopt growth-seeking behaviours
(Olomi, 2001). This may explain why even most of those who go through the
extensive vocational education system are unable to demonstrate competitive
capacity even in the local market.
Problem Statement
For small enterprises to become an engine of widely shared growth, it is necessary that learning institutions develop competencies that enable their graduates to start and develop meaningful enterprises. Different colleges have
taken measures in this direction, including introduction of entrepreneurship
courses. The notion of using the mainstream education and training system to
develop entrepreneurial competencies is a relatively recent phenomenon and
there is little knowledge of what the objective should be and what approaches
may work best, how and why. Success in this endeavour demands a good
understanding of entrepreneurial inclinations of trainees as well as the effect
of interventions already underway. In particular, it is important to know the
degree to which VTC trainees are attracted to self-employment and factors, which contribute to the inclination. As well, where entrepreneurship
courses have been introduced, it is useful to assess the impact these have on
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students inclinations. The study therefore, attempted to answer the following

questions:
(i) To what extent are the VTCs graduates interested in starting own
enterprises?
(ii) To what extent are VTCs trainees motivated to start or develop substantial enterprises as opposed to micro enterprises?
(iii) What is the effect of entrepreneurship courses on students entrepreneurial inclinations?
(iv) What factors may explain differences in interest in self-employment
and firm size aspirations among trainees?
The findings are relevant to policy makers, curriculum developers and trainers on suitable approaches for producing graduates who are better prepared
to create jobs, wealth and contribute more effectively to national goals of
poverty reduction, economic growth and competitiveness. It also contributes
to knowledge on entrepreneurial motivation.
Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Inclinations
Although there has been a tendency to treat small businesses synonymously
with entrepreneurship, the later is not confined to business operators. Allan
Gibb, a renowned entrepreneurship expert defines entrepreneurship as way
of thinking, reasoning, and acting that results in the creation, enhancement,
realisation, and renewal of value for an individual, group, organisation, and
society. At the heart of this process is the creation and/or recognition of
opportunities followed by the will and initiative to seize these opportunities
(Gibb, 2006). Entrepreneurship has to do with ones values, attributes and
behaviours. It may be displayed both through creating new organizations
(including business) as well enhancing what already exists.
However, entrepreneurial inclinations as used in this study refers narrowly
to the attitudes and intentions towards starting and developing a business. It
encapsulates the extend to which one is determined to start a business as well
as how one intends to develop it. Related to these are the underlying mortives
for such inclinations. Entrepreneurial inclinations include the following.
Literature on Influences on Entrepreneurial Behaviour
Entrepreneurship scholars have explained propensity to start businesses
in terms of psychological, sociological, and environmental factors.
Psychological theories view entrepreneurial behaviour as a function of inborn qualities. Individuals with high need for achievement, strong sense of
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independence, internal locus of control and a moderate risk-taking propensity are more likely to start their own businesses compared to others. These
attributes naturally drive them to starting and developing their own independent businesses. This is because the entrepreneurial career offers greater
possibilities for them to realize their potentials and is more consistent with
their need for freedom compared to salaried employment. However, most
individuals in Tanzania as in many other developing countries are driven to
start businesses out of economic necessity they dont have salaried jobs
and must start some income generating activity to meet basic needs. It has
however been reported that those who start because of economic necessity
have a passive disposition towards the future (Olomi, 2001) and are neither
risk takers nor innovative (Oyhus, 2001).
Sociological theories suggest that entrepreneurial attitudes, intentions and
behaviours are socially generated and sustained. For example, those who
grow up around a society or family that runs business or where business
entrepreneurship is highly valued are likely to learn and model this tendency, perceiving it to be feasible, more socially desirable and rewarding
than employment (Hisrich and Peters, 2002). Also, marginalized individuals may be driven to seek freedom and success independently through business activity. The desire to develop (or not to develop) a growing enterprise
may also be influenced by the meaning that one attaches to business, which
in turn is socially generated and sustained. For example, people who start
businesses because they enjoy performing the operational role in the business (carpentry, tailoring, hair dressing, etc.) may not be motivated to grow
beyond the owner-managed phase because they will be forced to take on a
supervisory role in the business, which is not their primary motivation for
starting the business (Stanworth and Curran, 1976; Olomi, 2001).
In Tanzania, as in many other societies, women are socialized to prefer
activities which are related to their reproductive role and to be less ambitious
compared to men. Indeed, research shows that women entrepreneurs tend to
put less importance on traditional measures of performance, such as growth
and profits and more importance on relationships and ability to effectively
combine business and family roles (Nchimbi, 2002). Mushipe (2002) found
female University students to prefer gendered type of activities and have
lower growth aspirations compare to their male counterparts.
The VETA Labour Market Report of 2002 revealed that very few graduate
of vocational training institutions were interested to become self-employed.
In the selection interview for joining vocational training centres, most
trainees reported that they wanted to join VTCs because their parents did
not have money to pay for their secondary education. Most of those whose
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parents were engaged in some technical jobs (e.g. garages) wanted to join
them. Very few intend to study and then use their skills to employ themselves
(VET-Iringa, 2003). It would therefore be expected that few trainees have
positive motivation (interest) in self-employment.
One of the key roles of training institutions is to socialize people in specific socially desired directions. It is therefore reasonable to expect students
who take courses intended to develop their entrepreneurial interest and capabilities to have a greater propensity of starting their own businesses.
Environmental differences may determine the opportunities and possibilities open to different sets of individuals. This explains the spatial variation
in the rate of formation and growth of small businesses in various parts
of world as well as within different countries. Environmental factors may
include socio-economic structure, the economy, and culture. The economic
factors that are considered responsible in small firm formation include rate
of unemployment, information, access to finance, availability of premises,
and demand among others. Hence people who have greater access to other
opportunities, including salaried jobs may have less interest in starting their
own businesses compared to those with ready access.
The review of the literature above leads to the following hypotheses which
are tested in this study:
H1: Few VET trainees have interest in starting their own businesses, and
where this interest exist, the main motivation is economic necessity.
H2: Entrepreneurial inclinations vary by gender; female trainees have less
interest in business and are fewer ambitions in terms of future growth.
H3: Training in entrepreneurship enhances interest in doing business as well
as growth aspirations.
H4: The higher ones perceived chances of securing a paid job, the less ones
interest in starting a business.
H5: VET trainees with parents who are self-employed have more interest
in self-employment compared to those whose parents are employed in
salaried jobs.
Methodology
The study was carried out in Iringa region in central Tanzania. It is a relatively remote region with no major urban centres. The region was chosen
because it has many developed VET Centres. It was deliberately decided to
research a region outside the main commercial centres of Tanzania, where
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Table 1. Entrepreneurial Inclinations Include the Following Attributes.
Attribute

Meaning

Start-up inclinations

Whether and the extent to which one is interested to start own

business
Whether someone has actually decided to start a business
Whether one will start a business on full-time or part-time
basis

Growth intentions

How big one wishes the business to be certain years after

starting

Source: Olomi, 2001.

most research activities take place. This was both a descriptive and analytical study employing primary data, which were obtained from structured
questionnaires administered to final year students of 12 vocational centres
in Iringa making a total of 508. In each of the 12 colleges, all students in
one trade were included in the sample, the objective being to come up with
a heterogeneous sample. Table 2 shows the distribution of respondents by
centre.
A standard semi-structured questionnaire was administered with the
assistance of class instructors during class time with the permission of
Table 2. Distribution of Respondents by Training Institution.
Name of VET Centre

Frequency

Percent

Njombe Folk Development Center

Njombe VTC
Iringa Regional Vocational Training and Service Center
Mafinga Lutheran VET
Incomet-Mafinga VTC
Mpechi Vocational Training Center
Usawa VTC
Pawaga VTC
St Mariagoreth VTC
Uwemba Vocational Training Center VTC
Don Bosco VTC
Upendo Vocational Training Center

37
55
52
54
19
22
36
6
76
12
134
5

7.3
10.8
10.2
10.6
3.7
4.3
7.1
1.2
15.0
2.4
26.4
1.0

Total

508

100.0

Source: Field data.

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the respective principals of the colleges. All questions were translated to

Kiswahili, which is a common language to all students. The questionnaire
was first pre-tested to 20 trainees. It solicited information on background
of the trainees, business start-up inclinations, future growth intentions, etc.
The data was coded and analyzed using frequency tables, cross-tabulations,
chi-square tests of significance and t-tests.

RESULTS
Profile of the Respondents
Distribution of respondents by gender and area of specialization is shown in
Table 3.
The analysis shows that, male trainees are over-represented in carpentry, electrical, mechanics, masonry, and welding courses all of which are
traditionally male dominated activities. On the other hand, female trainees
are over-represented in tailoring and printing courses. Four fifths (81%) of
the female trainees are in tailoring compared to only 1.7% of male trainees.
Chi-square test of significance confirms that these differences are statistically significant at the 5% level. The explanation could be that women and
men have been socialized to prefer certain activities to others.
Figure 1 shows the distribution of the respondents by age.
Table 3. Gender of Respondents Against their Specialization.
Specialization

Male

Female

Total

Count

Count

Count

Carpentry & Joinery

Electrical
Tailoring
Mechanics
Masonry & Bricklaying
Welding & Fabrication
Printing

70
55
5
118
20
32
2

23.2
18.2
1.7
39.1
6.6
10.6
0.7

7
13
166
8
2
2
8

3.4
6.3
80.6
3.9
1.0
1.0
3.9

77
68
171
126
22
34
10

Total

302

Pearson Chi-Square

Value
364.787

100
df
6

Source: Field data.

110

206

100
Sig.
0.000

508

%
15.2
13.4
33.7
24.8
4.3
6.7
2.0
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100

80

60

40

Count

20

0
15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

28

29

30

32

38

40

Age of respondent

Figure 1. Age Distribution of the Respondents.

A majority of the respondents were between 17 to 23 years old. The

concentration of the respondents in this age group reflects the nature of VET
trainees, most of whom are primary and ordinary secondary school leavers
who did not have the opportunity for further studies or secure jobs.
Entrepreneurship Courses Taken by the Trainees
Entrepreneurship development is usually defined loosely and sometimes may
be considered to include course related to management, leadership, business
planning or development of entrepreneurial values and attitudes. Participants
were asked to indicate what kind of subjects or topics related to entrepreneurship and small business management they had actually gone through. The
table below summarises their responses.
Over half of the trainees had undergone a course related to small business or entrepreneurship, with the largest proportion of these reporting that
they had done a course related to developing enterprising behaviour. There
are statistically significant differences between male and female trainees.
Among others, a higher proportion of female trainees have attended course
which promote enterprising behaviour while a greater proportion of the male
trainees have not attended any relevant course.
Interest and the Intention to Start Own Business
Trainees were asked about the level of their interest to start a business and
their intention to start such businesses. The responses are shown below.
The table shows that, a majority about two thirds are very interested to start their own business, whereas only 3% of them are not interested
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Table 4. Course Taken by Gender of Trainee.
Course taken

Male

Female

Count

Count

Total

Count

Business planning
Small business management
Enterprising tendencies
Management
None

56
13
73
31
129

18.5
4.3
24.2
10.3
42.7

30
1
72
30
73

14.6
0.5
35.0
14.6
35.4

86
14
145
61
202

16.9
2.8
28.5
12.0
39.8

Total

302

100.0

206

100.0

508

100.0

Pearson Chi-Square

Value
16.128

df
4

Sig.
0.003

Source: Field data.

Table 5. Interest to Start Own Business Against Gender.
Response

Male

Female

Total

Count

Count

Count

Very Interested
Interested
Not sure
Not interested
Not at all interested

185
53
50
10
4

61.3
17.5
16.6
3.3
1.3

131
37
35
3

63.6
18.0
17.0
1.5
0.0

316
90
85
13
4

62.2
17.7
16.7
2.6
0.8

Total

302

206

100.0

508

100.0

Pearson Chi-Square

Value
4.508

100
df
4

Sig.
0.342

at all. Gender differences in interest in starting a business are not statistically

significant.
It should be noted that one may be interested in doing something, but
this does not mean that one actually intends to do it. At the same time, one
can imagine a situation where people may intend to do something because
they are compelled to and not because they are interested to do it. Trainees
were asked if they actually intended to start businesses after graduation. The
responses are summarized in Table 6.
Again about a third reported that they actually intended to start business
after graduation. Compared to male respondents, a greater proportion of
female trainees intend to start their own businesses. These differences are
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Table 6. Intention to Start Business Against Gender.
Intention to Start Business

Male

Female

Count
Yes
Probably
No

178
104
20

Pearson Chi-Square

Total

Count

Count

58.9
34.4
6.6

138
63
5

67.0
30.6
2.4

316
167
25

62.2
32.9
4.9

Value
6.209

df
2

Sig.
0.045

statistically significant at the 5% level. Since distribution of the sexes among

the different trades is gendered, the observation that a greater proportion of
female trainees intend to start businesses could base on differences in the
types of businesses. Table 7 below analyses intention to start businesses by
specialization.
The results show that there is significant association ( p < 0.05) between
intention to start a business and the type of training. There is no straightforward explanation for these differences. One explanation could be that it is
easier to start micro enterprises related to some trades (tailoring, electrical)
and there are already many role models compared to others (e.g. printing).
However, this explanation does not apply to some fields which are also relatively easy to enter, such as masonry and bricklaying. It is also possible that
Table 7. Intention to Start Business Against Specialization Cross-Tabulation.
Definitely
Count

Probably

No

Total

Count

Count

Count

Carpentry & Joinery

46
Electrical
47
Tailoring
118
Mechanics
72
Masonry & Bricklaying
9
Welding & Fabrication
23
Printing
1

59.7
69.1
69.0
57.1
40.9
67.6
10.0

24
17
49
48
10
10
9

31.2
25.0
28.7
38.1
45.5
29.4
90.0

7
4
4
6
3
1
0

9.1
5.9
2.3
4.8
13.6
2.9
0

77
68
171
126
22
34
10

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

Total

316

62.2

167

32.9

25

4.9

508

100.0

Pearson Chi-Square

Value
32.29

df
12

Sig.
0.001

Source: Field data.

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Table 8. How the Business Will be Established.
How it Will be Started

Immediately after graduation and

focus on business
Part time basis for a while and
then quit employment
Part time permanently
Get employed first and start
sometime in the future
Other
Total
Pearson Chi-square test

Male

Female

Total

Count

Count

Count

48

15.9

27.7

0.28

105

20.7

99

32.8

27.7

0.28

156

30.7

10
122

3.3
40.4

7.3
33.5

0.07
0.33

25
191

4.9
37.6

23

7.6

3.9

0.04

31

6.1

100.0

1.00

508

100.0

302
Value
17.528

100
df
4

Sig.
0.002

the trainees who chose some trades did so after deciding that they would later
employ themselves. Clearly, more research is needed to unravel the reasons
behind these differences in preferences by type of training.
How the Business Will be Established
Trainees who reported that they intend to start businesses were asked to
indicate how they would start them. As shown in Table 8, only about a fifth
plan to start immediately after graduation and focus only on business. Most
of the rest prefer to either start on part-time basis (while employed) and quit
their jobs later.
There is a statistically significant difference between female and male
trainees in terms of how the business will be started ( p < 0.05), with female
trainees expressing more readiness to start immediately and focus on business from the time they graduate. This may reflect the fewer entry barriers
in the kinds of businesses that they express interest in.
Entrepreneurship Training and the Intention to Start Own
Businesses
In order to ascertain whether entrepreneurship training in VTCs motivates
trainees to start own businesses, respondents were asked whether they had
taken entrepreneurship courses and if so how these had helped them. The
responses are shown below.
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Table 9. How Entrepreneurship Courses have Helped.
Response

Yes

No

Total

Count

Count

Count

243
189
308

99.6
99.5
100

1
1
0

0.4
0.5
0.0

244
190
308

100
100
100

It increased my interest to start

Made me decide to start
Increased confidence in my ability to start

Virtually all respondents who had taken entrepreneurship courses

reported that the training increased their interest to start businesses, confidence in their ability to start as well as made them decide to start businesses.
To further test the effect of entrepreneurship courses, the extent to which
one actually intended to start own businesses was cross-tabulated with
whether or not one had attended these courses. The results are shown
below.
Interestingly a larger proportion (66%) of those who had not taken
entrepreneurship courses intend to start own business compared to 60%
of those who have taken the courses. This contradicts what was stated by
respondents who attended these courses. Chi-square test of significance of
this relationship shows that it is not statistically significant.
To further assess the effect entrepreneurship courses, type of training
received was cross-tabulated with intention to start a business. The results,
shown in Table 11 also shows that there are no significant differences in
Table 10. Intention to Start Business and Whether Taken Entrepreneurship Course.
Intention to Start

Whether have Taken Entrepreneurship Course

Yes
Count

Total

No
%

Count

Count

Yes
Probably
Not thought of it
No

198
115
12
5

60.0
34.8
3.6
1.5

118
52
6
3

66.3
29.2
3.4
1.7

316
167
18
7

62.2
32.9
3.5
1.4

Total

330

100.0

178

100.0

508

100.0

Pearson Chi-Square

Value
2.057

df
4

Sig.
0.725

Source: Field data.

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Table 11. Course Taken and Intention to Start a Business.
Course Taken

Intention to Start a Business

Yes

Business plan
Small business
management
Enterprising
tendencies
Total
Pearson
Chi-Square

Probably

Count

Count

47
5

32.4
3.4

36
7

93

64.1

145

100.0

No

Total

Count

Count

41.4
8.0

3
2

23.1
15.4

86
14

35.1
5.7

44

50.6

61.5

145

59.2

87

100.0

13

100.0

245

100.0

Value

df

Sig.

10.226

0.250

Source: Field data.

intention to start a business among those who too entrepreneurship courses

of different kinds.
The results imply that entrepreneurship courses have not significantly
influenced interest in starting businesses among the students. It might well
be that trainees taking entrepreneurship courses appreciate the challenges
involved in starting businesses and hence the fact that they are not overrepresented among the group that intend to start own businesses may simply
reflect realism. However, it is also possible that the design or facilitation of
learning in entrepreneurship courses is not sufficiently effective in promoting
entrepreneurial spirit and intentions. What is not clear is why trainees who
attend these courses report that they have helped them, while this is not
reflected in their own stated aspirations.

Motivation for Starting a Business

Respondents were also asked to state the primary motives for wanting to
start own businesses. Motivational statements which have been developed
and validated in the Tanzanian setting were used (see Olomi, 2001). The
responses are summarised by gender below. Also, t-test was carried out to
determine whether mean differences between female and male respondents
are statistically significant.
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Table 12. Primary Motivation for Wanting to Start Business by Gender.
Motivation

Mean

t-value

df

Sig.

0.636
1.839
1.828
1.625
1.766
3.283
0.279
1.165
2.450
3.060

405.828
417.272
443.144
415.595
438.236
372.596
413.202
433.630
404.672
403.592

0.525
0.067
0.068
0.105
0.078
0.001
0.781
0.245
0.015
0.002

Male Female
To have more control over life
Only way to make a living
Continue a family tradition
To do what I like most
To supplement income from salary
To build a large company
To overcome career barriers
To follow the example of a person I admire
To create employment for dependants
To make more money than would otherwise

4.36
4.07
2.88
4.10
4.25
4.01
3.38
3.70
3.97
3.99

4.30
3.86
3.10
3.91
4.08
3.62
3.34
3.55
3.68
3.62

Source: Field data.

For both sexes, the most important motives are to have control over ones
life and to supplement income from salary!. This is consistent with the observations made earlier that some of the respondents actually planned to start
a business on part-time basis, while maintaining a salaried job. The least
important reasons for both sexes were to overcome career barriers and to
continue a family tradition.
In terms of the gender differences, male respondents were significantly
more motivated by the need to to build a large company, to create
employment for dependants and to make more money than would otherwise make compared to their female counterparts. This is consistent with
the understanding that women have been socialised to be less ambitious
than men. They are therefore less likely to want to develop large entities or
innovative compared to their male counterparts. This has implications for
training institutions and other socialisation agents.
Many institutions are encouraging students to think of self-employment
as an alternative to salaried employment. The study also sought to establish
whether those who perceived they are less likely to find salaried jobs have
greater interest in starting their own businesses. The results are shown below.
The results in Table 13 shows that, contrary to expectations, there is a
statistically significant positive relationship between likelihood of securing
a job and both interest and intention to start a business. This means that those
who feel that they have what it takes to secure a job also believe that they
have the competencies to start and develop a business, whereas those who
do not feel confident about successfully starting and developing businesses
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(Constant)
Likelihood of
getting a job
(Constant)
Likelihood of
getting a job

Interest in starting
a business

Source: Field data.

Intention to start
business

Independent
Variable

Dependent
Variable

1.249
6.809E-02

1.310
0.106

Unstandardized
Coefficients
(B)

0.084
0.027

0.114
0.036

Std.
Error

0.112

0.128

Standardized
Coefficients
(Beta)

14.819
2.528

11.528
2.908

Table 13. Likelihood of Securing a Salaried Job and Entrepreneurial Inclinations.

0.000
0.012

0.000
0.004

Sig.

0.012

0.014

Adj R
sq

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Table 14. Whether Related to Own Discipline and Whether Innovative.
Whether Idea Relates
to Ones Study

Whether Copying
or Innovating
Copy

Innovate

Total

Yes
No
Not applicable

462
N/A
N/A

0
N/A
N/A

462
0
46

90.9
0.0
9.1

Total

462

508

100.0

Source: Field data.

have deficiencies which are likely to make it harder for them to secure paid
jobs as well. This suggests that the view of self-employment as an alternative
for those who cannot secure salaried employment may be untenable.
Types of Businesses Which Trainees Want to Start
On the types of the businesses respondents were planning to start after graduation, about 91 per cent of them said that they will start businesses that are
related to the areas of their specialization (Table 13).
Unfortunately all of the respondents who would start businesses within
their areas of specialization said that they would only copy what others are
doing (copy-cat). That means they are not innovative.
Family Background and Intention to Start a Business
It was hypothesized that, in line with the literature, trainees whose parents
are engaged in business have been better socialised to the entrepreneurial
career and will therefore be more likely to express intentions to start their
own businesses. Table 15 below demonstrates that this is indeed the case.
There is a statistically significant association ( p < 0.05) between ones
family background and intention to start a business among the trainees.
About three quarters of those whose parents are engaged in business activities state that they intend to start their own businesses compared to only
50% of those whose parents have other backgrounds. These findings corroborate the long established intergenerational inheritance of enterprise culture
theory. It strengthens the argument for deliberately building entrepreneurial
values, interests and intentions on the premise that these are made, rather
than in-born.
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Table 15. Intention to Start Business and Family Background.
Whether Intends to
Start a Business

Whether Parents had a Business

Yes

No

Total

Count

Count

Count

Yes
Probably
No

129
32
5

77.7
19.3
3.0

187
135
20

54.7
39.5
5.8

316
167
25

62.2
32.9
4.9

Total

166

100.0

342

100.0

508

100.0

Pearson Chi-Square

Value
df
25.224 2

Sig.
0.000

Source: Field data.

Firm-Size Aspirations
With regard to firm growth, a majority of the respondents have very low
aspirations; only about 10% aspire to develop businesses that employ over
10 employees in the first five years. As seen in Table 12, almost 60% aspire
to have no more than 4 persons. To analyze gender differences in firm size
aspiration, aspired number of employees was cross tabulated with gender
(Table 16).
The analysis shows that male trainees had higher aspirations for growth
than their female counterparts. However the difference is not statistically
significant as shown by the results of the chi-square test above. Contrary
to expectations, female trainees do not have statistically significant lower
expectations compared to their male counterparts.
Table 16. Desired Size of the Business in Five Years by Gender.
How Large the Business
will be in Five Years

Male

Female

Total

Number

Number

Number

14 employees
510 employees
1120 employees
Over 20 employees

169
90
24
19
302

56.0
29.8
7.9
6.3
100

130
55
11
10
206

63.1
26.7
5.3
4.9
100

299
145
35
29
508

Pearson Chi-Square

Value
3.127

df
3

Source: Field data.

120

Sig.
0.372

%
58.9
28.5
6.9
3.9
0.8

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Table 17. Perceived Barriers to Start-Up
Constraint

Access to finance
Regulations and
procedures
Premises
Business
management
skills
Attitude, mindset,
discipline
Experience

Mean
Difference

t-test for
Equality
of Means

df

Sig.
(2-tailed)

Male

Female

4.05
3.87

3.98
3.75

0.07
0.12

0.499
0.911

420.793
423.036

0.618
0.363

3.53
3.48

3.35
3.18

0.18
0.30

1.365
2.215

447.893
456.669

0.173
0.027

3.41

3.26

0.15

1.026

444.254

0.306

3.10

3.40

0.31

2.163

465.588

0.031

Source: Field data.

Perceived Constrains to Start-Up

Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which the common barriers
to start-up in Tanzania would be a hindrance to them on a five point Likert
Scale. Analysis of the responses is shown below.
Consistent with previous research, both male and female trainees rate
access to finance as the most serious impediment, followed by a difficult
regulatory environment. Trainees do not consider business skills, attitude
and experience, which are the most debilitating barriers to success in business as most critical. Female trainees consider experience as a bigger barrier compared to their male counterparts, while male counterparts assessed
business management skills as a stringer barrier than their female counterparts. These differences are statistically significant at 5% level. This may
be explained by the earlier observations that male trainees aspire for types
of businesses which may demand better management skills whereas female
trainees mainly aspire to start businesses which require a lot of technical
experience (e.g. tailoring)
However, the analysis in Table 18 below shows the percentage of respondents in each discipline who indicated that each of the factors given was
either a major constrain or a constrain.
The analysis shows that a majority of respondents in almost every discipline identified access to finance and/or regulations as a barrier. It is only
for printing businesses that a fifth of the respondents identified premises as
a critical problem.
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53
36
37
35
27
235

47

Source: Field data.

Access
to finance
Regulations
Premises
Skills
Attitude
Experience
Total

Count

22.6
15.3
15.7
14.9
11.5
100.0

20

Carpentry &
Joinery

48
35
43
42
34
256

54

Count

18.8
13.7
16.8
16.4
13.3
100.0

21.1

Electrical

119
80
73
84
90
549

103

Count

21.7
14.6
13.3
15.3
16.4
100.0

18.8

Tailoring

93
83
89
85
69
522

103

Count

17.8
15.9
17.0
16.3
13.2
100.0

19.7

Masonry &
Mechanics

10
8
11
11
11
66

15

Count

15.2
12.1
16.7
16.7
16.7
100.0

22.7

Welding &
Bricklaying

24
17
18
19
15
111

18

Count

21.6
15.3
16.2
17.1
13.5
100.0

16.2

Fabrication

Table 18. Perceived Constraints by Field of Study.

10
9
6
7
4
45

Count

22.2
20.0
13.3
15.6
8.9
100.0

20.0

Printing

357
268
277
283
250
508

312

Count

70.3
52.8
54.5
55.7
49.2
100.0

61.4

Total

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions
The study has established that there is a lot of interest among Vocational
Education Trainees to start and run their own businesses. A majority of
them report that they actually intend to start their own businesses sometime
after graduation although only a third intend to focus only on business. This
is very encouraging for vocational training institutions as well as policy
makers and other actors interested in supporting them to start and develop
their own businesses. It has also been established that the interest to start
businesses varies by gender. Contrary to expectations, female trainees are
not disproportionately less interested in self-employment than their male
counterparts. This could be because they are concentrated in tailoring courses
for which business entry barriers are minimal.
There is no solid evidence that training in entrepreneurship actually
enhances learners interest in and intention to start businesses. This raises
questions about the content, methodology and quality of learning facilitators
in these courses.
The primary reasons for interest in self-employment are to have greater
control over ones life and to be able to meet basic needs. However, female
trainees put less weight on traditional success measures, such as growth and
money, compared to their female counterparts.
Again, contrary to expectations, those who are less likely to get jobs do not
have greater interest in starting their own businesses. Instead, the study finds
the opposite to be the case; a statistically significant positive relationship
between interest in business (and intention to start) and perceived chance of
getting a job. This means that it is unrealistic to expect those who cannot
finds jobs to be the ones to employ themselves. Apparently, those who
feel they are unlikely to secure jobs do not have what it takes to succeed in
business.
Family background seems to have a strong influence of trainees intentions to do business. This corroborates the view that socialiasation plays a
key role in shaping entrepreneurial motivation and behaviour. It also means
that efforts to develop entrepreneurial attitudes among students can pay off,
as long as these are structured in a way which ensures effective socialisation.
The choice of business activities again shows that trainees are not ready
to innovate as virtually all want to go for copy cat businesses. This
includes those who have taken entrepreneurship courses. This suggests that

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entrepreneurship courses and the learning processes in general have not

managed to develop an innovative mindset among the trainees.
Almost all trainees aspire to have micro enterprises, even five years after
starting their businesses, suggesting that their growth/entrepreneurial motivations are rather low. This suggests a need for entrepreneurship training
to develop growth motivation, and therefore something needs to be done
about it.
Trainees perceive access to finance and regulatory framework as the
main barriers and accord attitudes and skills less weight. Interestingly,
there are gender differences in the weight accorded to barriers with women
trainees considering limited experience as a stronger barrier than their male
counterparts.
Recommendations
Based of the findings of the study, a number of recommendations are in order
for vocational education and training to be able to contribute effectively in the
development of a competitive and dynamic private sector, which is essential
for sustainable reduction of poverty and economic growth.
First of all there is need to reassess the content, approach and competencies around entrepreneurship training within the VTCs in order to identify
areas where improvements are needed to make the course more effective in
developing interest and commitment to start businesses, innovation capacity
and growth seeking behaviour among learners.
Secondly, it is recommended that special attention should be paid to
female trainees in VETs, to de-socialise them from taking a gendered perspective of life in terms of what they want to achieve in life, including the
type and size of the businesses they wish to build.
Finally policy makers and educators should stop considering selfemployment as an alternative for those who are unable, on account of capacity, to secure salaried jobs. Instead, efforts should be made to develop people
with competitive capacity who are prepared to take responsibility for their
own lives. It is among these able people that successful entrepreneurs will
emerge and not among mediocre.
Limitations and Future Research
The study was limited to only VTCs in Iringa region. The results, therefore,
may not be generalizable to the entire population of schools and colleges or
even VTCs trainees. It is therefore essential to do similar studies in other
regions as well as other types of colleges and schools. It would be useful
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to examine the reasons as to why entrepreneurship education among VET

students does not seem to enhance interest in self-employment. It would be
useful to do research to shed more light on perceptions of barriers to start
and develop businesses, including gender differences.
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