Practical Business Education Components and Production of Graduates for the Global Workforce in Public Universities in Cross River State

This study examined the influence of practical components of Business Education on the production of globally competitive graduates in public universities in Cross River State, Nigeria. The practical components investigated included Accounting Education, Entrepreneurship Education, Office Management Education, and Marketing and Distributive Education. Anchored on the Skill Complementarity Theory by Stephany and Teutloff (2022), the study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised all final-year Business Education students across the two public universities in the state. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 97 respondents, and the instrument was validated and found reliable with a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.87. Five research questions guided the study alongside five corresponding null hypotheses tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression analysis at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that Accounting Education had a statistically significant influence on the production of globally competitive graduates (F = 8.787, p = .004). Entrepreneurship Education also showed a significant influence (F = 28.565, p = .000). However, Office Management Education did not significantly influence the production of globally competitive graduates (F = 2.371, p = .127). In contrast, Marketing and Distributive Education had a significant effect (F = 16.752, p = .000). The joint influence of all four components was also statistically significant (F = 8.447, p = .000, R = .518, R² = .269), indicating that the practical components collectively accounted for 26.9% of the variance in graduate competitiveness. The findings imply that integrating strong practical components in business education, especially in Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing is crucial for enhancing graduate employability in a globalised economy. The study concludes that practical components in Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing and Distributive Education significantly enhance the production of globally competitive graduates in public universities in Cross River State. Office Management Education, however, showed no significant impact in its current form. The joint contribution of all four components was statistically significant, underscoring the importance of integrated practical training in Business Education. It recommends that public universities revise curricula to strengthen practical exposure in these areas while addressing weaknesses in Office Management training.