Re-enter – IO 1 – Entrepreneurial Development Practices for Unemployed and Older Workers in Europe
Currently in Europe more and more people either decide to leave the safety zone of a dependent working relationship or they are forced to do so. A rapidly increasing number of people create their own company, but because they are not familiar with the new unchartered waters they are diving in, they are led to failure. Thus, the current report attempts to examine the issue for a specific age group, 45+, which consists of people, either unemployed or in the redundant part of their working life cycle. It examines the issue by taking into account, the current and future demographics of Europe, the social factors that are affecting the citizens 45+, the European challenges and of course the facts about self employment or entrepreneurship on a European level. The report then moves on to the learning style each and every person has and ends with the EntreComp framework, the European Commission´s initiative aiming to foster the entrepreneurial capacity of European citizens, officially launched the 12th May 2017.
On one hand, we have the fact that a larger and larger part of the active workforce should stay longer in the market, on the other, we have the notion of the immobile working age, combined with working conditions and the needed skills for the 21st Century. All of them create an environment that is very difficult to be handled by a person, who is at the same time facing the transitions on several levels of their life.
In order to provide viable solutions to the above issues, the current report attempts: a) to point out all of the factors that someone needs to know and understand, in order to feel secure and ready to take the necessary steps and actions leading to taking entrepreneurial actions. This is reinforced by b) tips and advice, how the learning process someone should follow, based on their personal characteristics should be structured. Finally, c) we present in detail the EntreComp conceptual model which is made up of three main areas: “ideas and opportunities”, ” resources” and ” into action”. Each of these is in turn made up by a number of competences (altogether 15) and 8 levels of proficiency, which make up the building blocks of the entrepreneurship as a competence for all citizens.
Please download here: RE-ENTER – O1
Re-enter – IO 2 – Competence Framework for Older Entrepreneurs
RE-ENTER – “Returning to the Labour Market through Entrepreneurship” – is an Erasmus+ project (2017-1- HR01-KA204-035423) that aims to understand of the motivation of, and the skills most needed by the potential and new entrepreneurs of over 45 particularly in partner countries, and provide an answer through an Entrepreneurial Development programe fully catered for their specific needs and which will offer support for development of entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and skills, and will deliver it in a playful and effective way.
The aim of this document is to present the Competence Framework developed by the RE-ENTER project, as well as the methodological approach and the results of the research that lead to the conclusions of what competences an “older” entrepreneur should possess in order to be able to start, manage and grow their business. The document represents the RE-ENTER Intellectual Output 2 (O2).
Following the desk research, a survey was designed and carried out in project countries (Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain) that involved the target group and stakeholders and aimed to improve the understanding of the mindset of starting entrepreneurs and their skills needs, as well as check how those needs are addressed by existing training and support programmes.
The conclusions of the analysis confirm the need to further develop the skills of potential and new entrepreneurs that would help them start and manage a business at a later stage of their working life. Based on the findings of desk research and fieldwork, the RE-ENTER Entrepreneurial Development Programme should focus on the development of the following competences: creativity, vision, motivation and perseverance, planning and management, financial and economic literacy. It may include materials and tools to help develop further competences: coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk, communication and social media skills, spotting opportunities, working with others, mobilizing resources and taking the initiative.
The RE-ENTER Entrepreneurial Development Programme should be developed with emphasis on the needs and learning preferences of the primary target group. It should follow a blended learning approach, be practical, modular, well structured, and accessible, facilitate the development of community and provide possibilities for networking, involve discussions with successful entrepreneurs, contain region-specific information and examples, consider including mentoring/ coaching and follow-up.
The RE-ENTER Competence Framework serves as a basis for the elaboration of the RE-ENTER Entrepreneurial Development Programme and learning platform.
Please download here: RE-ENTER – O2
