Page 54 - guidance-supporting-europe-s-aspiring-entrepreneurs-policy-and-practice-to-harness-future-potential

Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

2.3. Entrepreneurial aspirations and career option

The status of entrepreneurship, and the attractiveness of it as a career choice,
has an obvious effect on the entrepreneurial aspirations of individuals.
Entrepreneurship has long been praised in countries like the US, but in others
there are many, especially older people, who still view it more sceptically
(Volkmann et al., 2009). Some regard it as an unsafe and risky option, and less
socially rewarding than some other career choices (European Commission,
2004b). It is therefore important to shed light on the views of Europeans on
entrepreneurship as it has an impact on the guidance needs of prospective
entrepreneurs and on the way in which education and guidance systems should
approach the issue.
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The 2009 Eurobarometer survey ( ) on entrepreneurship indicates that
Europeans still prefer a career as an employee as opposed to an entrepreneur:
surveys indicate that slightly more Europeans wish to be employed (49%) than
self-employed (45%) (The Gallup Organization, 2009). There has been no
change in the number of Europeans wishing to become self-employed since the
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levels recorded in 2004. About half (50% in 2009) ( ) have never even thought
about starting their own business.
Although entrepreneurs have a positive image across all of the 28 European
countries surveyed, there has been a reduction in the attractiveness of becoming
an entrepreneur; in 2007, only 30% of non-self-employed respondents responded
positively to whether it was desirable to become self-employed, a three
percentage point reduction from 2004. However, it is interesting to note that there
are significant differences between the older Member States and the new
Member States: in 2007, only 28% of EU-15 citizens found self-employment an
attractive prospect in comparison to 40% in NMS10.
One significant potential for Europe is the fact that young people in the EU-25
are more attracted to self-employment than their older counterparts; over half
(51%) of 15-24 year olds and half of those still in education favoured self-
employment (The Gallup Organization, 2007). This can be seen most strongly
among the NMS10 where 62% of 15-24 year olds favoured an entrepreneurial
route. In contrast, across the EU-25, very few people aged 55 years and over were
interested in following an entrepreneurial pathway over the next five years (13%).

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( ) The 2007 Eurobarometer Survey on Entrepreneurship aims to assess the development of
entrepreneurship across the EU Member States and to identify the underlying factors that
encourage entrepreneurial mindsets and activities (The Gallup Organization, 2007). In total, 20
674 individuals were interviewed through telephone surveys between 9 January and 16 January
2007.
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( ) Since 2009 the statistical data cover the EU-27 instead of the EU-25 as was earlier the case
(2004 and 2007 Eurobarometer surveys).

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