EMPOWERING GEOSCIENTISTS WITH ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS – BRING BACK THE ‘ECONOMICS’ IN ECONOMIC GEOLOGY COURSE
1Igonor, Emmanuel E. and 2Oden, M. Ikpi
1Petra Prospectors Limited ( Nigeria)
2Department
of Geology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
Unemployment is on a steady increase and the probability of getting a job is on a steady decline. This unemployment has caused serious economic and financial crisis, which is not restricted to the poor or developing nations of the world but has also affected the developed nations. Global trends report of 2011 shows that the global unemployment-to-population ratio declined from 61.7 in 2007 to 61.1 in 2010. Also the number of countries with falling employment-to-population ratio was still twice the number that had rising ratios. The youths are the worst hit by this, as the global youth unemployment rate stood at 12.6% in 2010, an increase from 11.8% in 2007. The geosciences sector is not exempted from this global crisis. The pending retirement of professionals and the uncertainty regarding the adequacy of this replacement with respect to quantity and quality is a major concern. This work looks at the possibility of empowering geoscientists with entrepreneurship skills to combat unemployment. Research results show that entrepreneurial skills and training is so much needed today to empower geoscientists. And the easiest means is when the ‘economics’ in ‘economic geology’ is brought back. The policy makers and geoscientists/geosciences students must all work together to see that the true elements of economics – business, trade, money, and industry is re-introduced fully into the teaching of economic geology course, as this is the fastest way to generate interest and alertness to the whole geosciences education and ensure the production of qualitative and quantitative geoscientists to replace the ageing and retiring ones. In other words, the geosciences education needs to be ‘monetized’. So the ‘economics’ of economic geology course must be brought back.
Keywords: entrepreneur; money; trade; business; economic geology; empowerment.