Page 96 - 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

3.6.3. Non-formal guidance
The current impact of non-formal guidance methods on entrepreneurship
agendas in VET schools seems to be much greater than the impact of formal
guidance services. The providers of non-formal guidance are typically role
models and other entrepreneurs and people from the business world, rather than
teachers and guidance practitioners.
The chapter showed that 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. The study countries have responded to this
demand by creating opportunities for students to shadow entrepreneurs and
undertake work placements, and by supporting role model initiatives.
Nevertheless, it was found that too few placement and shadowing schemes
target entrepreneurs themselves, instead focusing on employers more generally.
Some schools and countries are, however, making a conscious effort to involve
more self-employed people and business owners, especially those involving
students from sectors characterised by high proportions of self-employment.
Excellent examples of such approaches were found in Ireland France, and Malta.
Role models underpin most successful guidance-based interventions in this
field. However, these are too few and far between, despite their benefits being
clear. Entrepreneurs’ realistic accounts of the career journey they have taken
make a big impression on students and suggest a clear impact in terms of
‘enthusing’ them and overcoming stereotypical perceptions of entrepreneurs.
Role models have been particularly well received by groups of students with
lower levels of educational attainment, who tend to respond very positively to the
presentations of entrepreneurs and their journeys. Role models themselves have
gained from the experience by learning from presentations and interaction with
students, and the activity has also helped them to network with their peers.
Practical ways of learning are changing the role of teachers in VET. Their
role is to act as a facilitator, to provide students with the necessary guidance to
develop their own ideas and to take responsibility for their own actions. This,
however, stresses the need for effective training, guidance and support for
teachers delivering entrepreneurship learning.

3.6.4. Guidance building entrepreneurial foundations and skills
Guidance in initial VET can also play a role in building foundations for
entrepreneurial activity. These foundations can be built through enhancing
student understanding of the fundamental ideas associated with
entrepreneurship, such as a sense of initiative, confidence and a ‘can-do’

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