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

CHAPTER 3
Guidance in the entrepreneurship agenda of

IVET institutions

Education for entrepreneurship can be particularly effective for students in
vocational education and training, as many vocational occupations have high
proportions of self-employment. Entrepreneurship related interventions, however,
need to take into consideration that many IVET students are considered minors
by law, preventing them from establishing a corporate entity or borrowing in their
own name (Volkmann et al., 2009).
Nevertheless, it is a good age to engage young people in innovative and
creative thinking and familiarise them with enterprising attitudes and behaviour.
Activities at this level should also start the process of equipping students with
core entrepreneurial skills and competences, such as those related to creating
business plans. They should also help students in the career exploration process
by presenting opportunities to understand aspects of the day-to-day life of
entrepreneurs.
Guidance manifests itself in the entrepreneurship agenda of IVET institutions
in many different ways. The role of non-formal guidance is stronger than that of
formal guidance. Our study suggests that while the provision of printed and digital
material on entrepreneurship is the most commonly used method to spread

information about entrepreneurship as a career among IVET students in Europe,
the impact of non-formal methods can be greater. For example, involving
entrepreneurs in the guidance process itself is one of the most effective ways of
helping students to understand what a career as an entrepreneur means.
Chapter 3.1 explores the ways in which the study countries have responded to
this demand. Guidance in initial VET can also help to build foundations for
entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial activity. These foundations can
be built by enhancing student understanding of key entrepreneurial principles,
such as confidence, creativity and ‘can-do’ attitude. This is discussed in Chapter
3.2.
Chapter 3.3 provides illustrations of the ways in which IVET institutes aim to
familiarise students with the enterprise concept. Such activities can help students
to understand what is required of entrepreneurs and what types of skills and
competences they need to develop if they are to start a business venture.
Chapter 3.4 focuses on mini-companies, an all-encompassing term for practice

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