Description
Brief description about entrepreneurship education inspiring the next generation.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION: INSPIRING
THE NEXT GENERATION
Partnerships that prepare young people
to start a business or get a job
October 2015
CONTENTS
A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 5
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IMPERATIVE 6
Entrepreneurship Education Benefits 6
PROMOTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION 8
Selection of Initiatives 8
European Achievements 10
PARTNERSHIP PROFILES 11
AKI (part of Adeo Group) 11
Auchan 11
Carrefour 11
CONFCOMMERCIO 12
Dansk Erhverv (Danish Chamber of Commerce) 13
Delhaize 13
HDE (The German Retail Federation) 14
ICA Handlarnas Förbund 15
Jerónimo Martins 15
Marks & Spencer 16
Metro 16
Sonae 16
VIRKE (The Enterprise Federation of Norway) 18
WKÖ (Austrian Federal Economic Chamber) 19
A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Concerns about a ‘lost generation’ are echoing throughout Europe as unemployment
among young people steadily climbs - well above 50 percent in some countries. Retail
and wholesale are the largest provider of work for young people aged 15–24, employ-
ing one fifth of young people under 25 who are working. Young people entering the
labour market for the first time may not have all the qualifications they need, but
they benefit from training schemes that many retail and wholesale businesses have
aimed at keeping pace with technological developments and equipping workers with the
essential skills they need in a fast-moving sector.
In dif?cult economic times, young people are a particularly vulnerable group and we
should be doing all we can to ease their transition from education to employment. We
believe that there should be a much closer working relationship between education and
business, and much earlier on in a young person’s schooling. We know that it is between
the ages of 13 and 18 that young people start to take the ?rst steps towards their pre-
ferred career path, and it is at this age that many also struggle with staying on at school.
Exposing them early to the kind of entrepreneurial thinking that is so sought-after by
any modern business or organisation is an important part of building their self-con?-
dence and demystifying the working world. Young people with some entrepreneurial
acumen and a willingness to learn will ?nd getting a job much easier and will have much
to contribute to making companies more agile in a complex global market.
EuroCommerce and JA Europe have been working in partnership across 12 European
countries, to equip young people with the entrepreneurial skills they need to get their
?rst job or start a business venture of their own. Students who have participated in
entrepreneurship education programmes at school are less likely to drop out, less like-
ly to be unemployed after they graduate, earn higher incomes and are more satis?ed
with their careers. They are also 3-5 times more likely to start a business later on.
Schools and educators all over Europe are calling for more entrepreneurship education
and more training in this field. EuroCommerce and JA Europe share the view that offer-
ing a supportive environment early on in schools will help young people develop an
entrepreneurial spirit and get practical real-world experience. Interacting with people
employed in different sectors offers students a window on the working world and an
insight into the modern career paths open to them. The good practice highlighted here
reflects how business and education can collaborate to make a real difference.
Europe needs more entrepreneurs and a more enterprising workforce. Achieving this is
a shared responsibility. Entrepreneurship education needs to be ramped up at local level
and anchored in national and EU strategies. The business community has a huge role to
play in providing the human capital, experience and expertise that schools struggle to
provide in this area.
This report gives an overview of entrepreneurship education partnerships at national
level between members of EuroCommerce and JA Europe as well as some examples of
retailers’ activities aimed at supporting entrepreneurship education at an early stage.
Jo Deblaere,
COO Accenture &
Chairman JA Europe
Kenneth Bengtsson
President EuroCommerce
The European Commission’s Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, issued in 2013,
states that between 15% and 20% of students who participate in a mini-company
programme in secondary school will later start their own company. This figure is
three to five times that of the general population.
Whether or not participating students go on to start a business of some kind, they will benefit from
entrepreneurial learning. Not only do they develop key business knowledge and skills, but they also
improve essential competences such as creativity, initiative, tenacity, teamwork, understanding of risk
and a sense of responsibility. According to recent surveys exactly these entrepreneurial attributes are
top of employers’ lists. In turn, young people want to work for companies and leaders that they see as
innovative and creative.
The European Commission’s recent study, Entrepreneurship Education: A road to success, demonstrates
the multiple impacts entrepreneurship education can have. Policy-makers and educational leaders
increasingly recognise how entrepreneurial attitudes and skills can strongly benefit individuals, education,
employability, the economy and society at large.
For Individuals
> Help to boost career ambitions
> Lead to higher employability
> Lead to improved entrepreneurial skills and attitudes
> Lead to behavioural change towards higher
entrepreneurial intentions
> Enhanced intentions to start a business can already
be proven at secondary education level
For Institutions
(implementing entrepreneurship education)
> Develop a stronger entrepreneurial culture
> Encourage greater engagement of teachers
> Intensify the engagement of stakeholders
For the Economy
> Increasing the start-up rate and helping create
successful ventures
> Generating a high return on investment
For Society
> Helping to protect an individual against social exclusion
" Investing in entrepreneurship
education is one of the highest
return investments Europe
can make. "
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IMPERATIVE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION BENEFITS
6
In September 2015, the European Parliament underlined the Commission’s call for greater entrepre-
neurship education by adopting its own report Promoting youth entrepreneurship through education
and training, calling on Member States, together with regional and local authorities, to encourage and
support initiatives fostering an entrepreneurial culture among young people.
While there has been significant progress in the field of entrepreneurship education across Europe,
scale and penetration remains too low. Only a few countries have achieved "critical mass", reaching
at least 20% of upper secondary students. The Nordic Innovation Report from 2012 says national JA
organisations, supported by business, unions, associations and government "have made a significant
contribution to entrepreneurship education in the Nordic countries and is therefore more than a good
practice". The report attributes high penetration rates to the fact that entrepreneurship education has
now been fully embedded in national strategies.
We have seen how ministries respond positively once they see results and success on the ground.
Thus, the collaboration between organisations like EuroCommerce and JA in the form of skills-based
volunteering, partnerships with schools, collaboration with government and policy-makers.
Partnerships with businesses and organisations from the local
community add value and impact to school activities. Teachers
value these interactions: employee volunteers are key interlocu-
tors, able to share their expertise and and hands-on knowledge.
They are powerful validators of the work achieved and skills
gained by students, allowing students to recognise the relevance
of what they are learning in school.
Entrepreneurship education is about giving students the oppor-
tunity, tools, context and motivation to realise their own ideas
and ambitions. It must begin early within the educational sys-
tem, through programmes as enterprising as the subject they
intend to teach. The whole community must be engaged in the
process - if we are going to teach entrepreneurship, our schools
cannot be cut off from the world around them. Teachers must
interact with non-teachers and students must have a variety
of adult role-models. To that end, government, businesses and
other relevant players have to join forces to find the resources
to support new generations to succeed in a global economy.
" This collaboration between schools
and the business community
has long been a critical success
factor in entrepreneurship education. "
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IMPERATIVE
7
Members of EuroCommerce and JA Europe joined forces on a selected number of initiatives
aimed at enhancing young people entrepreneurial skills, attitudes and knowledge. These
programmes are jointly delivered by teachers and business volunteers and reach to schools
and students across Europe.
SELECTION OF INITIATIVES
Primary and Middle School
Our Family is a programme which teaches young pupils what a family is and how its members work
together to achieve their collective goals. Gradually, the students begin to tell the difference between
a need and a want and realise the difficult decisions that families have to make to get by and prosper.
Our Community is a fun and interactive series of 5 lessons presented by a business volunteer in school
to a whole class. Pupils aged 8-10 are led through a discovery of how people and businesses operate
within a community. They assess the needs and wants of communities and set about taking responsibility
for a community they have designed through voting in a decision-making activity.
Europe and Me is an interactive classroom programme for students aged 10 to 12 which explores the
relationship between the natural, human and capital resources found in different countries and explores
European businesses that produce goods and services for consumers. Using hands-on activities, students
are guided through their learning by volunteers from the business world.
It’s My Business helps students aged 13 to 15 to learn about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship while
providing a strong focus on social studies, reading and writing skills. Through six interactive lessons
and the completion of an enterprise project, students are encouraged to use critical thinking to learn
entrepreneurial skills that support positive attitudes as they explore and enhance their career aspirations.
Economics for Success explores personal finance and students’ education and career options based
on their skills, interests and values. It also demonstrates the economic benefits of staying in school.
Through a series of six interactive lessons, presented by a business volunteer, students aged 13 to 15
gain an understanding of their role in the society and economy as consumers, employees, taxpayers,
investors and borrowers.
PROMOTING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
8
Upper Secondary School and VET
Company Programme teaches students aged 15-18 how to take a business idea from concept to reality.
They form their own mini-enterprise and discover first-hand how a company functions. They elect a
board of directors from amongst their peers, raise capital and market and finance a product or service
of their own choice. At the end of the programme, they present a report. Mini-companies are often
social businesses.
Innovation Camp is an intensive experience which engages students in entrepreneurial and collaboration
techniques. Students come together in diverse teams and learn how to generate and shape ideas within
a short deadline. They are using their knowledge and understanding of the issues that they see around
them every day, applying entrepreneurial and team-working skills to find innovative answers. They
have access to a team of experienced volunteer experts who help them develop, build up and finalise
their ideas/solutions.
Leaders-for-a-Day provides young people with the opportunity to learn from a high-level executive
by shadowing him/her for one day. Leaders-for-a-Day’s goal is to enable young people to make better
informed career choices, enlarge their network and improve their career opportunities.
The Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) is an international qualification that certifies that students
15-19, who have real entrepreneurship experience, possess the necessary knowledge, competences and
skills to start a venture of their own or be successfully employed. ESP includes a full-year in-school
mini-company experience; an examination of their business, economic and financial knowledge; the
possibility to access further opportunities offered by small and large businesses, top higher educational
institutions and international organisations across Europe
Enterprise without Borders (EwB) is designed to give students running mini-companies the opportunity to
create cross-border international partnerships as part of their JA experience. Teachers and school register
online and students can upload their company profiles to exchange entrepreneurship and knowledge.
Start Up Programme gives post-secondary school students aged 19 to 30 the opportunity to experience
running their own company, providing them with an insight into how their talents could be used to set
up a business for themselves. The Start Up Programme allows students to gain real experience of the
world of business: creating a concept for a business and working up a business plan, taking responsibility
and being accountable to their shareholders for the running of the company.
PROMOTING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
9
EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENTS
MT
PT
ES
FR
UK
IE
DK
SE
NO
NL
BE
LU
DE
PL
CZ
SK
AT
SI
HR
IT
EL
HU
RO
EE
LV
LT
FI
9 companies
AKI, Auchan, Carrefour,
Delhaize, ICA, Jerónimo
Martins, Marks&Spencer,
Metro, Sonae
Austria, Denmark,
France, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Malta, Norway,
Portugal, Romania,
Spain and Sweden
12 countries
Total number of
education programmes:
11
Total number of students:
394,774
Total number of volunteers:
4,465
5 associations
CONFCOMMERCIO,
Dansk Erhverv, HDE,
WKÖ, Virke
10
PARTNERSHIP PROFILES
Country:
France
Partner:
Entreprendre pour Apprendre
(JA France)
Website:
www.entreprendre-pour-apprendre.fr
Partnership Since:
2010
Number of Volunteers:
80 volunteers
Students Reached:
930 students
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme, also performing activities
related to retail and wholesale.
AUCHAN
CARREFOUR
Countries:
France and Romania
Partner:
Entreprendre pour Apprendre
(JA France)
Junior Achievement Romania
(JA Romania)
Website:
www.entreprendre-pour-apprendre.fr
www.jaromania.org
Partnership Since:
2015 (FR) and 2014 (RO)
Number of Volunteers:
10 volunteers (FR)
Students Reached:
100 students (FR)
84 students (RO)
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme, also performing activities
related to retail and wholesale; the partnership
in Romania is donation-based – 10 VET schools received
laptops as part of the Company Programme with a project
management focus.
AKI (PART OF ADEO GROUP)
Country:
Portugal
Partner:
Junior Achievement Portugal
(JA Portugal)
Website:
www.japortugal.org
Partnership Since:
2014
Number of Volunteers:
58 volunteers
Students Reached:
1,357 students
Programmes Supported:
Multiple JA programmes - Our Family, Our
Community, Ethics in Action, Europe and Me, It’s my Business,
Economics for Success, Job Shadow, GEP, Innovation
Challenge, Company Programme, EWB, Start Up Programme.
11
Country:
Italy
Number of Volunteers:
34
Students Reached:
30 (selected students from 3 different schools)
Programmes Supported:
The aim is to value students, considering them as a resource, and allowing
them become key players in changing the commercial context of the
city. The students were divided in groups, where they were able to develop their
business idea as a team, alongside teachers, company consultants and professionals
in the field.
CONFCOMMERCIO
BUILDING FOR ITALY (ITALIAN GENERAL CONFEDERATION
OF ENTERPRISES, PROFESSIONS AND SELF - EMPLOYMENT)
The project was developed through a public-pri-
vate partnership including Giovani Imprenditori
(La Spezia), Confcommercio (La Spezia), the
Chamber of Commerce, the City of La Spezia and
the Province of La Spezia, as well as two local high
schools (Enaudi-Chiodo and Fossati-Da Passano).
The aim of the project is to value students, con-
sidering them as a resource and allowing them to
become key players in changing the commercial
context of the city, by affirming a new approach
to commerce. The project was officially presented
to the students in December 2014 and launched
in January 2015 for one year.
Young people were chosen as the target group
because they embody future consumers, but also
possibly future entrepreneurs. They are consid-
ered to be better equipped to foresee new trends
and as such, they should be able to lead the city
changes and a new approach to commerce.
Schools involved in the project included profes-
sional institutes (institute for commerce and tour-
ism, economic school, school of art and fashion,
graphic institute and polytechnic school) and
involved 30 students divided in 5 mixed groups.
Each of them developed their business idea as a
team, alongside teachers, company consultants
and professionals in the field.
A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
Case Study
12
DANSK ERHVERV
(DANISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE)
Country:
Denmark
Partner:
Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship -
Young Enterprise (JA Denmark)
Website:
www.ye.dk
Partnership Since:
2011
Number of Volunteers:
100 volunteers
Students Reached:
1,343 students
Programmes Supported:
Start Up Programme
DELHAIZE
Countries:
Greece (AB BASILOPOULOS)
Romania (Mega Image)
Partner:
Greek Youth Entrepreneurship Association –
JA Greece
Junior Achievement Romania
Website:
www.sen.org.gr
www.jaromania.org
Partnership Since:
2010 (GR) and 2012 (RO)
Number of Volunteers:
14 volunteers (GR)
Students Reached:
300 students (GR)
14,028 students (RO)
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme (GR)
Ecological Education project –
Clean-Air Factory (RO)
13
HANDELSVERBAND
DEUTSCHLAND
Country:
Germany
Website:
www.einzelhandel.de
At the German Retail Federation, we are convinced
Entrepreneurship Education can promote entre-
preneurial thinking and working, not only for
entrepreneurial self-employment but also as part
of the managerial responsibilities of employees.
Besides professionalism and management skills,
a high degree of flexibility and independence are
essential as well as creativity and solution-ori-
ented thinking, the ability to deal with risks and
uncertainties and the skills to recognise and seize
(market) opportunities.
Approximately 80% of managers in the German
retail sector acquired their skills through voca-
tional training and further education; only around
20 percent apply competencies learnt exclusively
during their university studies. Entrepreneurship
Education has therefore a special significance for
the educational efforts of the retail sector. The
three areas of the JA Education Pathway – financial
literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship –
are being promoted successfully by the German
retail sector through a wide range of activities.
For instance, as part of the third year of vocational
training to become a management assistant for
retail services "Kaufmann", trainees can choose a
three-month elective quali?cation "Basics of entre-
preneurial self-employment". This covers, amongst
other things, the assessment of opportunities and
risks, drafting a business plan, evaluating individual
aptitude, analysing site suitability, legal framework
conditions, ?nancing, insurances and taxation as
well as using business performance indicators for
managing the company. Approximately 5% of the
26,000 trainees elect this module annually. Edeka
and Rewe particularly use this quali?cation option
to prepare future store managers and independent
retailers during their vocational training for the
challenging tasks they face.
Many retail companies (amongst others
Metro, Galeria Kaufhof, Edeka, Rewe, Kaufland,
Real, MediaSaturn, Globus, DM, Rossmann,
KaisersTengelmann, Tegut, Peek&Cloppenburg,
Otto and many more) are also committed – in
part through organised school partnership pro-
grammes – to informing pupils and teachers at
general-education schools on the requirements of
retailers, their fields of activity, the significance
of sustainability in and for the retail sector, on
economic factors and the promising work environ-
ment of retail. Internships for pupils and teachers
contribute to this process significantly. In this way,
retail companies reach thousands of young people
and numerous teachers every year.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
IN GERMAN RETAIL
Case Study
14
ICA HANDLARNAS FÖRBUND
Country:
Sweden
Partner:
Ung Företagsamhet (JA Sweden)
Website:
www.ungforetagsamhet.se
Partnership Since:
2013
Number of Volunteers:
125 volunteers
Students Reached:
90,400 students since 2013
(49,600 students during 2014/2015)
Programmes Supported in 2014/2015:
All programmes offered by JA Sweden,
Our Community, It’s My Business and Company Programme,
and recently Economics for Success
JERÓNIMO MARTINS
Country:
Portugal
Partner:
Junior Achievement Portugal (JA Portugal)
Website:
www.japortugal.org
Partnership Since:
2005
Number of Volunteers:
296 volunteers
Students Reached:
6,571 students
Programmes Supported:
Multiple JA programmes
- Our Family, Our Community, Ethics in Action, Europe and
Me, It’s my Business, Economics for Success, Job Shadow,
GEP, Innovation Challenge, Company Programme, EWB, Start
Up Programme
15
MARKS & SPENCER
Country:
Malta
Partner:
Junior Achievement - Young Enterprise
Malta (JA Malta)
Website:
www.youngenterprise.org.mt
Partnership Since:
2010
Number of Volunteers:
7 volunteers
Students Reached:
600 students
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme
METRO
Country:
Romania
Partner:
Junior Achievement Romania (JA Romania)
Website:
www.jaromania.org
Partnership Since:
2013
Number of Volunteers:
11 volunteers
Students Reached:
810 students
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme, including webinars on retail
and signature award at the Company of the Year Competition.
SONAE
Countries:
Portugal and Spain
Partner:
Junior Achievement Portugal (JA Portugal)
Junior Achievement Spain (JA Spain)
Website:
www.japortugal.org
www.fundacionjaes.org
Partnership Since:
2007 (PT) and 2014 (ES)
Number of Volunteers:
1,037 volunteers (PT)
and 12 volunteers (ES)
Students Reached:
21,777 students (PT)
and 186 students (ES)
Programmes Supported:
Supports multiple JA programmes
- Our Family, Our Community, Ethics in Action, Europe and
Me, It’s my Business, Economics for Success, Job Shadow,
GEP, Innovation Challenge, Company Programme, EWB, Start
Up Programme
JA Spain
16
Sonae is one of the largest companies in Portugal.
It has a very strong culture of social responsibil-
ity in education, environment, employment and
other areas.
As regards education, employees participate as
volunteers in all programmes from primary school
to higher education.
Sonae is a member of the European Round Table
of Industrialists and has participated since 2011
in the Global Enterprise Project, a complement
to the JA Company Programme. As one of the
company’s business areas is real estate (shopping
malls across the country), part of the trade fairs
from the JA Company Programmes are organised
in Sonae shopping malls. Last school year, Sonae
supported JA Portugal at least in two cities in
two shopping receptions.
At local level, in Oporto, Portugal, and since 2007,
Sonae is one of the companies associated with a
project of the town hall called Porto de Futuro.
Several schools come together in this partnership
including those participating in JA programmes.
Within this project, Sonae took part in an Innovation
Challenge with over 100 students from vari-
ous schools from Oporto. This academic year,
2014/2015, the winning team of the challenge
got offered internships in various departments of
Sonae, an excellent opportunity for young students.
Every year, Sonae offers 50 students a Job Shadow
opportunity in different cities across the country.
Finally, Sonae has also won the JA Portugal
Member of the Year award (recognizing that Sonae
has contributed the highest number of volunteers).
SONAE, A STRONG CULTURE
OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Case Study
17
Virke is a very enthusiastic sup-
porter of entrepreneurship. Its
CEO, Vibeke Hammer Madsen, has
been involved in many aspects of
entrepreneurship education and
development of relevant curricula,
as the former chair of JA Norway
and the current CEO of Virke.
Virke and JA Norway have a
partnership agreement for the
promotion of entrepreneurship
in education. In order to give teachers full support and
attention, they are appointing and honoring every year
The Entrepreneurship Teacher of the Year. The main cri-
terion for nomination is that the teacher has promoted
creativity in close cooperation with working life and the
local business community.
Virke supports entrepreneurship at all levels of the for-
mal education system; in primary, secondary and tertiary
schools. They have initiated a number of activities in the
field of entrepreneurship:
Everybody goes to school today! all Virke employees go
to school on a certain day, working together with teachers
and students on activities relevant for business. Everybody
in Virke will have a taste of entrepreneurship education
and the schools have to organise one day dedicated to
authentic challenges from business life.
Reform of teacher education Virke has been very active
in the development process for the renewal of teacher
education in Norway. I was involved myself in the appointed
committee as the representative from labour market. My
objective was to integrate entrepreneurship and a man-
datory collaboration between schools and the world of
work into the new regulations of teacher education. It was
a tough fight, in particular with the representatives from
the traditional academia, but I’m very happy with the result.
Mobility programme School teachers have the oppor-
tunity to visit companies for a certain number of days
as part of their job. Virke has been a driving force in the
process of making this opportunity to a mainstream and
systematic national activity and not only as an option for
some enthusiastic individual teachers. The programme has
been rather successful and contributes in different ways
to bridging the world of education and the world of work.
TES – The Entrepreneurial School Virke is one of the part-
ners in a large European project in the field of entrepre-
neurship education. As a partner we are signalling how
important we see the training of schools in developing
entrepreneurship skills and competence. TES provides 5000
teachers across 18 countries with a databank of methods
and activities in entrepreneurship education. In Norway,
Virke has given teachers access to TES using the national
digital learning platform for upper secondary schools.
INSPIRO Virke has been a contributor in the initial phase of
a new education programmecalled: "Reality is the curricu-
lum". INSPIRO is a study programme offered by Drammen
Upper Secondary School.
Candidates will acquire a general university admission
certification. The curriculum contains subjects such as
drama, media and entrepreneurship. The study programme
is based on entrepreneurship, which means that the teaching
methods will be hands-on, and the training will take place
within a social context, in which the student himself/herself
will be responsible for the learning process and personal
qualities, talents and skills will impact the content of the
study programme. The training will be implemented in coop-
eration with business – with an interdisciplinary approach.
A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
Case Study
VIRKE (THE ENTERPRISE FEDERATION OF NORWAY)
Vibeke Hammer Madsen,
CEO of Virke
Country:
Norway
Partner:
Ung Entreprenørskap (JA Norway)
Website:
www.ue.no
Partnership Since:
1997
Number of Volunteers:
150 volunteers
Students Reached:
145,000 students
Programmes Supported:
A general partner of JA Norway which supports the
organisation in its strategic and operational development.
Inger Lise Blyverket, member of Virke’s Senior
Management, sits on the Board of JA Norway.
18
Yes, we are convinced that you can teach entrepreneurship
and an entrepreneurial mind-set. Entrepreneurship is all
about attitudes, skills and competences. Entrepreneurship
Education (EE) is about learners developing the skills and
mindset to turn creative ideas into entrepreneurial action.
It includes creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well
as the ability to plan and manage projects in order to
achieve objectives.
EE therefore supports individuals, not only in their
everyday lives at home and in society, but also in the
workplace. For employers, it is surely desirable that
employees understand the context of their work and are
able to seize opportunities, as a foundation for the more
specific skills and knowledge needed by those establishing
or contributing to social or commercial activity.
The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) has exten-
sive experience of work with employers and education
with an integrated and coherent programme on what
it takes to be an entrepreneur.
WKÖ, jointly with JA Europe, ini-
tiated The Entrepreneurial Skills
Pass®. The project, implemented
in nine countries and involving
other important partners, aims to
bridge the perennial gap between
the classroom and the world of
work. An exciting dimension of
the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass
is the development of an online
examination to certify students’
competences and measure the
impact of the entrepreneurial
experience on students’ attitudes regarding entrepre-
neurship, self-employment and active citizenship. It is
hoped that this assessment will serve as an invaluable
basis for continuous improvement aligned with the EU’s
Evidence-Based Policy Formation approach.
IS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND-SET
SOMETHING YOU CAN TEACH AND LEARN?
Case Study
WKÖ
(AUSTRIAN FEDERAL
ECONOMIC CHAMBER)
Country:
Austria and Europe
Partner:
JUNIOR Enterprise Austria (JA Europe)
Website:
www.junior.cc
www.jaeurope.org
Partnership Since:
1995 (AT) and 2013 (EU)
Number of Volunteers:
2,565 volunteers (AT)
Students Reached:
30,500 students (AT)
and 80,000 students (EU, 26 countries)
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme – in Austria and Entrepreneurial
Skills Pass on European level - reaching to 26 countries, and
Entrepreneurial Skills Pass – on European level
Dr. Friederike Sözen,
Senior Adviser, Department
of Educational Policy
for the Austrian Federal
Economic Chamber
19
EuroCommerce is the principal European organisation representing the retail and
wholesale sector. It embraces national associations in 31 countries and 5.5 million
companies, both leading multinational retailers such as Carrefour, Ikea, Metro,
and Tesco and many small family operations. Retail and wholesale provide a link
between producers and 500 million European consumers over a billion times a
day. It generates 1 in 7 jobs, providing a varied career for 29 million Europeans,
many of them young people. It also supports millions of further jobs throughout
the supply chain, from small local suppliers to international businesses.
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JA Europe is Europe’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepre-
neurship, work readiness and financial literacy, reaching 3.2 million students in
39 countries in 2014. It was founded in 2001 when Young Enterprise Europe and
Junior Achievement International Europe merged. JA works with the education
and business communities as well as governments to provide young people from
primary school to university with experiences that build the skills and compe-
tences they will need to succeed in a global economy. JA’s activities have been
endorsed as best practice by the European Commission. JA Europe is the European
Regional Operating Centre for JA Worldwide®.
doc_932760001.pdf
Brief description about entrepreneurship education inspiring the next generation.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION: INSPIRING
THE NEXT GENERATION
Partnerships that prepare young people
to start a business or get a job
October 2015
CONTENTS
A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 5
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IMPERATIVE 6
Entrepreneurship Education Benefits 6
PROMOTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION 8
Selection of Initiatives 8
European Achievements 10
PARTNERSHIP PROFILES 11
AKI (part of Adeo Group) 11
Auchan 11
Carrefour 11
CONFCOMMERCIO 12
Dansk Erhverv (Danish Chamber of Commerce) 13
Delhaize 13
HDE (The German Retail Federation) 14
ICA Handlarnas Förbund 15
Jerónimo Martins 15
Marks & Spencer 16
Metro 16
Sonae 16
VIRKE (The Enterprise Federation of Norway) 18
WKÖ (Austrian Federal Economic Chamber) 19
A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Concerns about a ‘lost generation’ are echoing throughout Europe as unemployment
among young people steadily climbs - well above 50 percent in some countries. Retail
and wholesale are the largest provider of work for young people aged 15–24, employ-
ing one fifth of young people under 25 who are working. Young people entering the
labour market for the first time may not have all the qualifications they need, but
they benefit from training schemes that many retail and wholesale businesses have
aimed at keeping pace with technological developments and equipping workers with the
essential skills they need in a fast-moving sector.
In dif?cult economic times, young people are a particularly vulnerable group and we
should be doing all we can to ease their transition from education to employment. We
believe that there should be a much closer working relationship between education and
business, and much earlier on in a young person’s schooling. We know that it is between
the ages of 13 and 18 that young people start to take the ?rst steps towards their pre-
ferred career path, and it is at this age that many also struggle with staying on at school.
Exposing them early to the kind of entrepreneurial thinking that is so sought-after by
any modern business or organisation is an important part of building their self-con?-
dence and demystifying the working world. Young people with some entrepreneurial
acumen and a willingness to learn will ?nd getting a job much easier and will have much
to contribute to making companies more agile in a complex global market.
EuroCommerce and JA Europe have been working in partnership across 12 European
countries, to equip young people with the entrepreneurial skills they need to get their
?rst job or start a business venture of their own. Students who have participated in
entrepreneurship education programmes at school are less likely to drop out, less like-
ly to be unemployed after they graduate, earn higher incomes and are more satis?ed
with their careers. They are also 3-5 times more likely to start a business later on.
Schools and educators all over Europe are calling for more entrepreneurship education
and more training in this field. EuroCommerce and JA Europe share the view that offer-
ing a supportive environment early on in schools will help young people develop an
entrepreneurial spirit and get practical real-world experience. Interacting with people
employed in different sectors offers students a window on the working world and an
insight into the modern career paths open to them. The good practice highlighted here
reflects how business and education can collaborate to make a real difference.
Europe needs more entrepreneurs and a more enterprising workforce. Achieving this is
a shared responsibility. Entrepreneurship education needs to be ramped up at local level
and anchored in national and EU strategies. The business community has a huge role to
play in providing the human capital, experience and expertise that schools struggle to
provide in this area.
This report gives an overview of entrepreneurship education partnerships at national
level between members of EuroCommerce and JA Europe as well as some examples of
retailers’ activities aimed at supporting entrepreneurship education at an early stage.
Jo Deblaere,
COO Accenture &
Chairman JA Europe
Kenneth Bengtsson
President EuroCommerce
The European Commission’s Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, issued in 2013,
states that between 15% and 20% of students who participate in a mini-company
programme in secondary school will later start their own company. This figure is
three to five times that of the general population.
Whether or not participating students go on to start a business of some kind, they will benefit from
entrepreneurial learning. Not only do they develop key business knowledge and skills, but they also
improve essential competences such as creativity, initiative, tenacity, teamwork, understanding of risk
and a sense of responsibility. According to recent surveys exactly these entrepreneurial attributes are
top of employers’ lists. In turn, young people want to work for companies and leaders that they see as
innovative and creative.
The European Commission’s recent study, Entrepreneurship Education: A road to success, demonstrates
the multiple impacts entrepreneurship education can have. Policy-makers and educational leaders
increasingly recognise how entrepreneurial attitudes and skills can strongly benefit individuals, education,
employability, the economy and society at large.
For Individuals
> Help to boost career ambitions
> Lead to higher employability
> Lead to improved entrepreneurial skills and attitudes
> Lead to behavioural change towards higher
entrepreneurial intentions
> Enhanced intentions to start a business can already
be proven at secondary education level
For Institutions
(implementing entrepreneurship education)
> Develop a stronger entrepreneurial culture
> Encourage greater engagement of teachers
> Intensify the engagement of stakeholders
For the Economy
> Increasing the start-up rate and helping create
successful ventures
> Generating a high return on investment
For Society
> Helping to protect an individual against social exclusion
" Investing in entrepreneurship
education is one of the highest
return investments Europe
can make. "
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IMPERATIVE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION BENEFITS
6
In September 2015, the European Parliament underlined the Commission’s call for greater entrepre-
neurship education by adopting its own report Promoting youth entrepreneurship through education
and training, calling on Member States, together with regional and local authorities, to encourage and
support initiatives fostering an entrepreneurial culture among young people.
While there has been significant progress in the field of entrepreneurship education across Europe,
scale and penetration remains too low. Only a few countries have achieved "critical mass", reaching
at least 20% of upper secondary students. The Nordic Innovation Report from 2012 says national JA
organisations, supported by business, unions, associations and government "have made a significant
contribution to entrepreneurship education in the Nordic countries and is therefore more than a good
practice". The report attributes high penetration rates to the fact that entrepreneurship education has
now been fully embedded in national strategies.
We have seen how ministries respond positively once they see results and success on the ground.
Thus, the collaboration between organisations like EuroCommerce and JA in the form of skills-based
volunteering, partnerships with schools, collaboration with government and policy-makers.
Partnerships with businesses and organisations from the local
community add value and impact to school activities. Teachers
value these interactions: employee volunteers are key interlocu-
tors, able to share their expertise and and hands-on knowledge.
They are powerful validators of the work achieved and skills
gained by students, allowing students to recognise the relevance
of what they are learning in school.
Entrepreneurship education is about giving students the oppor-
tunity, tools, context and motivation to realise their own ideas
and ambitions. It must begin early within the educational sys-
tem, through programmes as enterprising as the subject they
intend to teach. The whole community must be engaged in the
process - if we are going to teach entrepreneurship, our schools
cannot be cut off from the world around them. Teachers must
interact with non-teachers and students must have a variety
of adult role-models. To that end, government, businesses and
other relevant players have to join forces to find the resources
to support new generations to succeed in a global economy.
" This collaboration between schools
and the business community
has long been a critical success
factor in entrepreneurship education. "
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
EDUCATION IMPERATIVE
7
Members of EuroCommerce and JA Europe joined forces on a selected number of initiatives
aimed at enhancing young people entrepreneurial skills, attitudes and knowledge. These
programmes are jointly delivered by teachers and business volunteers and reach to schools
and students across Europe.
SELECTION OF INITIATIVES
Primary and Middle School
Our Family is a programme which teaches young pupils what a family is and how its members work
together to achieve their collective goals. Gradually, the students begin to tell the difference between
a need and a want and realise the difficult decisions that families have to make to get by and prosper.
Our Community is a fun and interactive series of 5 lessons presented by a business volunteer in school
to a whole class. Pupils aged 8-10 are led through a discovery of how people and businesses operate
within a community. They assess the needs and wants of communities and set about taking responsibility
for a community they have designed through voting in a decision-making activity.
Europe and Me is an interactive classroom programme for students aged 10 to 12 which explores the
relationship between the natural, human and capital resources found in different countries and explores
European businesses that produce goods and services for consumers. Using hands-on activities, students
are guided through their learning by volunteers from the business world.
It’s My Business helps students aged 13 to 15 to learn about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship while
providing a strong focus on social studies, reading and writing skills. Through six interactive lessons
and the completion of an enterprise project, students are encouraged to use critical thinking to learn
entrepreneurial skills that support positive attitudes as they explore and enhance their career aspirations.
Economics for Success explores personal finance and students’ education and career options based
on their skills, interests and values. It also demonstrates the economic benefits of staying in school.
Through a series of six interactive lessons, presented by a business volunteer, students aged 13 to 15
gain an understanding of their role in the society and economy as consumers, employees, taxpayers,
investors and borrowers.
PROMOTING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
8
Upper Secondary School and VET
Company Programme teaches students aged 15-18 how to take a business idea from concept to reality.
They form their own mini-enterprise and discover first-hand how a company functions. They elect a
board of directors from amongst their peers, raise capital and market and finance a product or service
of their own choice. At the end of the programme, they present a report. Mini-companies are often
social businesses.
Innovation Camp is an intensive experience which engages students in entrepreneurial and collaboration
techniques. Students come together in diverse teams and learn how to generate and shape ideas within
a short deadline. They are using their knowledge and understanding of the issues that they see around
them every day, applying entrepreneurial and team-working skills to find innovative answers. They
have access to a team of experienced volunteer experts who help them develop, build up and finalise
their ideas/solutions.
Leaders-for-a-Day provides young people with the opportunity to learn from a high-level executive
by shadowing him/her for one day. Leaders-for-a-Day’s goal is to enable young people to make better
informed career choices, enlarge their network and improve their career opportunities.
The Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) is an international qualification that certifies that students
15-19, who have real entrepreneurship experience, possess the necessary knowledge, competences and
skills to start a venture of their own or be successfully employed. ESP includes a full-year in-school
mini-company experience; an examination of their business, economic and financial knowledge; the
possibility to access further opportunities offered by small and large businesses, top higher educational
institutions and international organisations across Europe
Enterprise without Borders (EwB) is designed to give students running mini-companies the opportunity to
create cross-border international partnerships as part of their JA experience. Teachers and school register
online and students can upload their company profiles to exchange entrepreneurship and knowledge.
Start Up Programme gives post-secondary school students aged 19 to 30 the opportunity to experience
running their own company, providing them with an insight into how their talents could be used to set
up a business for themselves. The Start Up Programme allows students to gain real experience of the
world of business: creating a concept for a business and working up a business plan, taking responsibility
and being accountable to their shareholders for the running of the company.
PROMOTING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
9
EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENTS
MT
PT
ES
FR
UK
IE
DK
SE
NO
NL
BE
LU
DE
PL
CZ
SK
AT
SI
HR
IT
EL
HU
RO
EE
LV
LT
FI
9 companies
AKI, Auchan, Carrefour,
Delhaize, ICA, Jerónimo
Martins, Marks&Spencer,
Metro, Sonae
Austria, Denmark,
France, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Malta, Norway,
Portugal, Romania,
Spain and Sweden
12 countries
Total number of
education programmes:
11
Total number of students:
394,774
Total number of volunteers:
4,465
5 associations
CONFCOMMERCIO,
Dansk Erhverv, HDE,
WKÖ, Virke
10
PARTNERSHIP PROFILES
Country:
France
Partner:
Entreprendre pour Apprendre
(JA France)
Website:
www.entreprendre-pour-apprendre.fr
Partnership Since:
2010
Number of Volunteers:
80 volunteers
Students Reached:
930 students
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme, also performing activities
related to retail and wholesale.
AUCHAN
CARREFOUR
Countries:
France and Romania
Partner:
Entreprendre pour Apprendre
(JA France)
Junior Achievement Romania
(JA Romania)
Website:
www.entreprendre-pour-apprendre.fr
www.jaromania.org
Partnership Since:
2015 (FR) and 2014 (RO)
Number of Volunteers:
10 volunteers (FR)
Students Reached:
100 students (FR)
84 students (RO)
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme, also performing activities
related to retail and wholesale; the partnership
in Romania is donation-based – 10 VET schools received
laptops as part of the Company Programme with a project
management focus.
AKI (PART OF ADEO GROUP)
Country:
Portugal
Partner:
Junior Achievement Portugal
(JA Portugal)
Website:
www.japortugal.org
Partnership Since:
2014
Number of Volunteers:
58 volunteers
Students Reached:
1,357 students
Programmes Supported:
Multiple JA programmes - Our Family, Our
Community, Ethics in Action, Europe and Me, It’s my Business,
Economics for Success, Job Shadow, GEP, Innovation
Challenge, Company Programme, EWB, Start Up Programme.
11
Country:
Italy
Number of Volunteers:
34
Students Reached:
30 (selected students from 3 different schools)
Programmes Supported:
The aim is to value students, considering them as a resource, and allowing
them become key players in changing the commercial context of the
city. The students were divided in groups, where they were able to develop their
business idea as a team, alongside teachers, company consultants and professionals
in the field.
CONFCOMMERCIO
BUILDING FOR ITALY (ITALIAN GENERAL CONFEDERATION
OF ENTERPRISES, PROFESSIONS AND SELF - EMPLOYMENT)
The project was developed through a public-pri-
vate partnership including Giovani Imprenditori
(La Spezia), Confcommercio (La Spezia), the
Chamber of Commerce, the City of La Spezia and
the Province of La Spezia, as well as two local high
schools (Enaudi-Chiodo and Fossati-Da Passano).
The aim of the project is to value students, con-
sidering them as a resource and allowing them to
become key players in changing the commercial
context of the city, by affirming a new approach
to commerce. The project was officially presented
to the students in December 2014 and launched
in January 2015 for one year.
Young people were chosen as the target group
because they embody future consumers, but also
possibly future entrepreneurs. They are consid-
ered to be better equipped to foresee new trends
and as such, they should be able to lead the city
changes and a new approach to commerce.
Schools involved in the project included profes-
sional institutes (institute for commerce and tour-
ism, economic school, school of art and fashion,
graphic institute and polytechnic school) and
involved 30 students divided in 5 mixed groups.
Each of them developed their business idea as a
team, alongside teachers, company consultants
and professionals in the field.
A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
Case Study
12
DANSK ERHVERV
(DANISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE)
Country:
Denmark
Partner:
Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship -
Young Enterprise (JA Denmark)
Website:
www.ye.dk
Partnership Since:
2011
Number of Volunteers:
100 volunteers
Students Reached:
1,343 students
Programmes Supported:
Start Up Programme
DELHAIZE
Countries:
Greece (AB BASILOPOULOS)
Romania (Mega Image)
Partner:
Greek Youth Entrepreneurship Association –
JA Greece
Junior Achievement Romania
Website:
www.sen.org.gr
www.jaromania.org
Partnership Since:
2010 (GR) and 2012 (RO)
Number of Volunteers:
14 volunteers (GR)
Students Reached:
300 students (GR)
14,028 students (RO)
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme (GR)
Ecological Education project –
Clean-Air Factory (RO)
13
HANDELSVERBAND
DEUTSCHLAND
Country:
Germany
Website:
www.einzelhandel.de
At the German Retail Federation, we are convinced
Entrepreneurship Education can promote entre-
preneurial thinking and working, not only for
entrepreneurial self-employment but also as part
of the managerial responsibilities of employees.
Besides professionalism and management skills,
a high degree of flexibility and independence are
essential as well as creativity and solution-ori-
ented thinking, the ability to deal with risks and
uncertainties and the skills to recognise and seize
(market) opportunities.
Approximately 80% of managers in the German
retail sector acquired their skills through voca-
tional training and further education; only around
20 percent apply competencies learnt exclusively
during their university studies. Entrepreneurship
Education has therefore a special significance for
the educational efforts of the retail sector. The
three areas of the JA Education Pathway – financial
literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship –
are being promoted successfully by the German
retail sector through a wide range of activities.
For instance, as part of the third year of vocational
training to become a management assistant for
retail services "Kaufmann", trainees can choose a
three-month elective quali?cation "Basics of entre-
preneurial self-employment". This covers, amongst
other things, the assessment of opportunities and
risks, drafting a business plan, evaluating individual
aptitude, analysing site suitability, legal framework
conditions, ?nancing, insurances and taxation as
well as using business performance indicators for
managing the company. Approximately 5% of the
26,000 trainees elect this module annually. Edeka
and Rewe particularly use this quali?cation option
to prepare future store managers and independent
retailers during their vocational training for the
challenging tasks they face.
Many retail companies (amongst others
Metro, Galeria Kaufhof, Edeka, Rewe, Kaufland,
Real, MediaSaturn, Globus, DM, Rossmann,
KaisersTengelmann, Tegut, Peek&Cloppenburg,
Otto and many more) are also committed – in
part through organised school partnership pro-
grammes – to informing pupils and teachers at
general-education schools on the requirements of
retailers, their fields of activity, the significance
of sustainability in and for the retail sector, on
economic factors and the promising work environ-
ment of retail. Internships for pupils and teachers
contribute to this process significantly. In this way,
retail companies reach thousands of young people
and numerous teachers every year.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
IN GERMAN RETAIL
Case Study
14
ICA HANDLARNAS FÖRBUND
Country:
Sweden
Partner:
Ung Företagsamhet (JA Sweden)
Website:
www.ungforetagsamhet.se
Partnership Since:
2013
Number of Volunteers:
125 volunteers
Students Reached:
90,400 students since 2013
(49,600 students during 2014/2015)
Programmes Supported in 2014/2015:
All programmes offered by JA Sweden,
Our Community, It’s My Business and Company Programme,
and recently Economics for Success
JERÓNIMO MARTINS
Country:
Portugal
Partner:
Junior Achievement Portugal (JA Portugal)
Website:
www.japortugal.org
Partnership Since:
2005
Number of Volunteers:
296 volunteers
Students Reached:
6,571 students
Programmes Supported:
Multiple JA programmes
- Our Family, Our Community, Ethics in Action, Europe and
Me, It’s my Business, Economics for Success, Job Shadow,
GEP, Innovation Challenge, Company Programme, EWB, Start
Up Programme
15
MARKS & SPENCER
Country:
Malta
Partner:
Junior Achievement - Young Enterprise
Malta (JA Malta)
Website:
www.youngenterprise.org.mt
Partnership Since:
2010
Number of Volunteers:
7 volunteers
Students Reached:
600 students
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme
METRO
Country:
Romania
Partner:
Junior Achievement Romania (JA Romania)
Website:
www.jaromania.org
Partnership Since:
2013
Number of Volunteers:
11 volunteers
Students Reached:
810 students
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme, including webinars on retail
and signature award at the Company of the Year Competition.
SONAE
Countries:
Portugal and Spain
Partner:
Junior Achievement Portugal (JA Portugal)
Junior Achievement Spain (JA Spain)
Website:
www.japortugal.org
www.fundacionjaes.org
Partnership Since:
2007 (PT) and 2014 (ES)
Number of Volunteers:
1,037 volunteers (PT)
and 12 volunteers (ES)
Students Reached:
21,777 students (PT)
and 186 students (ES)
Programmes Supported:
Supports multiple JA programmes
- Our Family, Our Community, Ethics in Action, Europe and
Me, It’s my Business, Economics for Success, Job Shadow,
GEP, Innovation Challenge, Company Programme, EWB, Start
Up Programme
JA Spain
16
Sonae is one of the largest companies in Portugal.
It has a very strong culture of social responsibil-
ity in education, environment, employment and
other areas.
As regards education, employees participate as
volunteers in all programmes from primary school
to higher education.
Sonae is a member of the European Round Table
of Industrialists and has participated since 2011
in the Global Enterprise Project, a complement
to the JA Company Programme. As one of the
company’s business areas is real estate (shopping
malls across the country), part of the trade fairs
from the JA Company Programmes are organised
in Sonae shopping malls. Last school year, Sonae
supported JA Portugal at least in two cities in
two shopping receptions.
At local level, in Oporto, Portugal, and since 2007,
Sonae is one of the companies associated with a
project of the town hall called Porto de Futuro.
Several schools come together in this partnership
including those participating in JA programmes.
Within this project, Sonae took part in an Innovation
Challenge with over 100 students from vari-
ous schools from Oporto. This academic year,
2014/2015, the winning team of the challenge
got offered internships in various departments of
Sonae, an excellent opportunity for young students.
Every year, Sonae offers 50 students a Job Shadow
opportunity in different cities across the country.
Finally, Sonae has also won the JA Portugal
Member of the Year award (recognizing that Sonae
has contributed the highest number of volunteers).
SONAE, A STRONG CULTURE
OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Case Study
17
Virke is a very enthusiastic sup-
porter of entrepreneurship. Its
CEO, Vibeke Hammer Madsen, has
been involved in many aspects of
entrepreneurship education and
development of relevant curricula,
as the former chair of JA Norway
and the current CEO of Virke.
Virke and JA Norway have a
partnership agreement for the
promotion of entrepreneurship
in education. In order to give teachers full support and
attention, they are appointing and honoring every year
The Entrepreneurship Teacher of the Year. The main cri-
terion for nomination is that the teacher has promoted
creativity in close cooperation with working life and the
local business community.
Virke supports entrepreneurship at all levels of the for-
mal education system; in primary, secondary and tertiary
schools. They have initiated a number of activities in the
field of entrepreneurship:
Everybody goes to school today! all Virke employees go
to school on a certain day, working together with teachers
and students on activities relevant for business. Everybody
in Virke will have a taste of entrepreneurship education
and the schools have to organise one day dedicated to
authentic challenges from business life.
Reform of teacher education Virke has been very active
in the development process for the renewal of teacher
education in Norway. I was involved myself in the appointed
committee as the representative from labour market. My
objective was to integrate entrepreneurship and a man-
datory collaboration between schools and the world of
work into the new regulations of teacher education. It was
a tough fight, in particular with the representatives from
the traditional academia, but I’m very happy with the result.
Mobility programme School teachers have the oppor-
tunity to visit companies for a certain number of days
as part of their job. Virke has been a driving force in the
process of making this opportunity to a mainstream and
systematic national activity and not only as an option for
some enthusiastic individual teachers. The programme has
been rather successful and contributes in different ways
to bridging the world of education and the world of work.
TES – The Entrepreneurial School Virke is one of the part-
ners in a large European project in the field of entrepre-
neurship education. As a partner we are signalling how
important we see the training of schools in developing
entrepreneurship skills and competence. TES provides 5000
teachers across 18 countries with a databank of methods
and activities in entrepreneurship education. In Norway,
Virke has given teachers access to TES using the national
digital learning platform for upper secondary schools.
INSPIRO Virke has been a contributor in the initial phase of
a new education programmecalled: "Reality is the curricu-
lum". INSPIRO is a study programme offered by Drammen
Upper Secondary School.
Candidates will acquire a general university admission
certification. The curriculum contains subjects such as
drama, media and entrepreneurship. The study programme
is based on entrepreneurship, which means that the teaching
methods will be hands-on, and the training will take place
within a social context, in which the student himself/herself
will be responsible for the learning process and personal
qualities, talents and skills will impact the content of the
study programme. The training will be implemented in coop-
eration with business – with an interdisciplinary approach.
A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
Case Study
VIRKE (THE ENTERPRISE FEDERATION OF NORWAY)
Vibeke Hammer Madsen,
CEO of Virke
Country:
Norway
Partner:
Ung Entreprenørskap (JA Norway)
Website:
www.ue.no
Partnership Since:
1997
Number of Volunteers:
150 volunteers
Students Reached:
145,000 students
Programmes Supported:
A general partner of JA Norway which supports the
organisation in its strategic and operational development.
Inger Lise Blyverket, member of Virke’s Senior
Management, sits on the Board of JA Norway.
18
Yes, we are convinced that you can teach entrepreneurship
and an entrepreneurial mind-set. Entrepreneurship is all
about attitudes, skills and competences. Entrepreneurship
Education (EE) is about learners developing the skills and
mindset to turn creative ideas into entrepreneurial action.
It includes creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well
as the ability to plan and manage projects in order to
achieve objectives.
EE therefore supports individuals, not only in their
everyday lives at home and in society, but also in the
workplace. For employers, it is surely desirable that
employees understand the context of their work and are
able to seize opportunities, as a foundation for the more
specific skills and knowledge needed by those establishing
or contributing to social or commercial activity.
The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) has exten-
sive experience of work with employers and education
with an integrated and coherent programme on what
it takes to be an entrepreneur.
WKÖ, jointly with JA Europe, ini-
tiated The Entrepreneurial Skills
Pass®. The project, implemented
in nine countries and involving
other important partners, aims to
bridge the perennial gap between
the classroom and the world of
work. An exciting dimension of
the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass
is the development of an online
examination to certify students’
competences and measure the
impact of the entrepreneurial
experience on students’ attitudes regarding entrepre-
neurship, self-employment and active citizenship. It is
hoped that this assessment will serve as an invaluable
basis for continuous improvement aligned with the EU’s
Evidence-Based Policy Formation approach.
IS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND-SET
SOMETHING YOU CAN TEACH AND LEARN?
Case Study
WKÖ
(AUSTRIAN FEDERAL
ECONOMIC CHAMBER)
Country:
Austria and Europe
Partner:
JUNIOR Enterprise Austria (JA Europe)
Website:
www.junior.cc
www.jaeurope.org
Partnership Since:
1995 (AT) and 2013 (EU)
Number of Volunteers:
2,565 volunteers (AT)
Students Reached:
30,500 students (AT)
and 80,000 students (EU, 26 countries)
Programmes Supported:
Company Programme – in Austria and Entrepreneurial
Skills Pass on European level - reaching to 26 countries, and
Entrepreneurial Skills Pass – on European level
Dr. Friederike Sözen,
Senior Adviser, Department
of Educational Policy
for the Austrian Federal
Economic Chamber
19
EuroCommerce is the principal European organisation representing the retail and
wholesale sector. It embraces national associations in 31 countries and 5.5 million
companies, both leading multinational retailers such as Carrefour, Ikea, Metro,
and Tesco and many small family operations. Retail and wholesale provide a link
between producers and 500 million European consumers over a billion times a
day. It generates 1 in 7 jobs, providing a varied career for 29 million Europeans,
many of them young people. It also supports millions of further jobs throughout
the supply chain, from small local suppliers to international businesses.
www.eurocommerce.eu
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www.jaeurope.org
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JA Europe is Europe’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepre-
neurship, work readiness and financial literacy, reaching 3.2 million students in
39 countries in 2014. It was founded in 2001 when Young Enterprise Europe and
Junior Achievement International Europe merged. JA works with the education
and business communities as well as governments to provide young people from
primary school to university with experiences that build the skills and compe-
tences they will need to succeed in a global economy. JA’s activities have been
endorsed as best practice by the European Commission. JA Europe is the European
Regional Operating Centre for JA Worldwide®.
doc_932760001.pdf