Page 97 - 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

attitude. They give a taste of a life as an entrepreneur without going deep into
‘business mechanics’.
Innovation camps and a range of different mini-company approaches go
much deeper into familiarising students with the enterprise concept; they allow
students to experience how companies are actually launched and operated. It is
increasingly common to organise business plan/idea competitions alongside both
innovation camps and mini-company programmes. Competitions provide an
important goal (motivation) for young people taking part in the programmes, but
they also raise the profile of the activities, increasing media interest. This, in turn,
increases the commitment of the private sector.
Private sector involvement is crucial for both programmes, especially in
Eastern European countries where the government contribution to such activities
is far less than in many Western European countries, Norway is one of the
leading countries where the government is providing more significant levels of
support for activities in this field. The role of the private sector is imperative in
terms of providing sponsorship but also through the unpaid, non-formal guidance
they provide for young people taking part in the programmes. Direct financial
benefits are not a driver for most companies as much as being seen as a partner
in the initiative; companies ‘want to be seen’. To keep entrepreneurs and the
private sector involved, the programmes must also remain practical and action-
oriented; private sector interest tends to decline when programmes become too
‘academic’.
Mini-companies are one of the most researched elements of
entrepreneurship activity in IVET,. with the business start-up rate of mini-
company participants being typically twice as high as the rate of non-participants.
Studies all across the world from the US to Western and Eastern Europe show
similar results, demonstrating that it is an approach that works regardless of the
cultural or economic context. This is also where international organisations such
as Ja-Ye and EuroPEN play a pivotal role.
There is also anecdotal evidence to suggest that many under-achieving
students excel in mini-company programmes. They discover that while they may
not achieve high grades in academic subjects, they may do extremely well in
practical assignments such as sales. Often these students do not to see a
connection between the required academic curriculum and what they wish to
discover about the workplace, and they would rather learn about earning a living
and making money. Mini-companies provide them with an opportunity to broaden
their horizons and allow them to develop skills and knowledge which they may
not otherwise have been able to develop. They may even open up new career
pathways and help build constructive team and social relationships.

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