Abstract

Despite a high unemployment rate and the unique capabilities that the Arts and Creative industry can be of value to South Africa by stimulating job creation, Arts graduates are still reluctant to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option, even in an environment of high job scarcity. Thus, the need to develop and transform university Arts graduates into self-sustaining entrepreneurs is more urgent than ever. It is therefore important to know what drives students’ decision towards self-employment, especially in a University of Technology perspective. This descriptive survey design will utilise an adapted measure based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. A sample of 150 graduates from the Arts and Design graduates took part in the study and data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling (sem). The results indicated that subjective norm is an insignificant predictor of entrepreneurial intention compared to attitudes towards entrepreneurial behaviour and perceived entrepreneurial abilities. Attitude towards entrepreneurship as a career option and perceived entrepreneurial abilities of students’ both positively influence entrepreneurial intentions. Thus, to positively influence Arts students’ intention to become entrepreneurs, it is necessary to change their attitude towards entrepreneurship whilst increasing their entrepreneurial abilities. Future research is recommended to fully evaluate the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education subject components’ impact on students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship, perceived entrepreneurial abilities and entrepreneurial intentions.

Key words: Arts and creative industries, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial intentions, subjective norm.