Page 92 - 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

• guidance professionals feel more confident to talk about entrepreneurship as a
career option to students who have not considered it before;
• training on entrepreneurship can also give guidance professionals and
teachers the ability to help students develop transferable competences which
are not only linked to entrepreneurship but can also help to improve their
employability more generally. Entrepreneurial skills such as creative thinking,
innovation, networking and fund-raising can be applied to a number of career
choices which differ from typical employee-focused paths.
Training delivered by someone from the business world is another CPD
method used. In Estonia, training sessions and events delivered by business
professionals are relatively common and frequently involve entrepreneurs. Such
events are most common during a dedicated ‘enterprise week’ that takes place
annually in October.

3.5.2. Events and seminars
Besides training courses, there are entrepreneurship-oriented events geared
towards delivering continuing professional development (CPD) which take place
on an annual or multi annual basis. These events take a number of different
formats, such as seminars or workshops. Examples of this type of interventions
were found in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Cyprus, Denmark, Norway and
Malta. In Cyprus all VET teachers must attend seminars, organised by the
Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, on the teaching of entrepreneurship. There are
also voluntary seminars for VET teachers that are already successfully delivering
entrepreneurship education. In Hungary, the Young Enterprise organisation has
developed a teachers’ club. The club functions as a network of entrepreneurship
teachers and hosts events such as talks and lectures, demonstration lessons and
informal discussions. These events give teachers the opportunity to meet and
compare experiences and good practice in the teaching of entrepreneurship. The
European Business Association and the Shell Foundation for entrepreneurship
also provide professional training for guidance practitioners in Hungary.

3.5.3. Placement schemes
There are various programmes which enable teachers to spend a specified
period of time within a chosen industry to gain direct and practical experience of
the business and entrepreneurial world. These placement programmes exist in
France, Cyprus and the UK (Northern Ireland and Scotland). In France, the
placement activities involve the head teachers and teachers of identified schools
spending a week in the chamber of commerce. They subsequently meet with
companies and spend three days in those companies, familiarising themselves

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