Description
Elucidation relating to human resource development council study on entrepreneurship education in fet colleges.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL:
STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
IN FET COLLEGES
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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SUBMITTED TO
SUBMITTED BY
Centre for Education Policy Development
1st Floor, Block B, Empire Park
55 Empire Road
Parktown Ext.
Johannesburg
Osiba Management cc
Ground Floor Block F
The Palms Office Park
391 Main Avenue
Ferndale, Randburg
Date: December 2013
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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Table of Contents
LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
I. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE.................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
II. METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12
III. WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION? .................................................................................................................................................................. 13
IV. LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE............................................................................................................................................................ 1
1. European Commission ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
2. World Economic Forum ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
3. United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific ............................................................................................................................ 8
V. STATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PRACTICE IN FET COLLEGES .................................................................................................................... 11
1. Rationale for entrepreneurship education ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11
2. History and practice of entrepreneurship education in FET Colleges ............................................................................................................................... 12
2.1 National government policy and leadership ................................................................................................................................................................ 12
2.2 Curriculum .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Structure of the course and teaching material ............................................................................................................................................................ 14
2.4 Funding......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
2.5 Lack of recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes ..................................................................... 18
2.6 Lack of a dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College ............................................................................................................................. 19
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2.7 Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators ................................................................................................................................ 19
2.8 Pedagogical and assessment approach ....................................................................................................................................................................... 22
2.9 Student interest in entrepreneurship .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24
2.10 Other implementation constraints ............................................................................................................................................................................ 24
2.11 Business start-up support and monitoring ................................................................................................................................................................ 27
3. Local and international links .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 28
4. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships ............................................................................................................................................................................ 28
VI. COMPARING THE SOUTH AFRICA SITUATION WITH INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE ........................................................................................................ 30
VII. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 31
1. Messaging and communication on the importance of entrepreneurship......................................................................................................................... 31
2. National government policy and leadership ...................................................................................................................................................................... 32
3. Curriculum .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
4. Structure of the course and teaching material .................................................................................................................................................................. 32
5. Funding............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33
6. Recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes ...................................................................................... 33
7. Dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College .................................................................................................................................................. 34
8. Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators ...................................................................................................................................... 34
9. Pedagogical and assessment approach ............................................................................................................................................................................. 34
10. Student interest in entrepreneurship .............................................................................................................................................................................. 35
11. Local and international institutional linkages .................................................................................................................................................................. 35
12. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships .......................................................................................................................................................................... 35
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LIST OF ACRONYMS
ACOSA Association of Colleges of South Africa
CEPD Centre for Education Policy Development
DHET Department of Higher Education and Training
dti (The) Department of Trade and Industry
FEBDEV Foundation for Entrepreneurship and Business Development
FET Further Education and Training
GEM Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
HRDC Human Resource Development Council
NC(V) National Certificate (Vocational)
NCO National Coordinating Office
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NSF National Skills Funds
NVC New Venture Creation
SACPO South African College Principals Organisation
SEDA Small Enterprise Development Agency
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SETA Sector Education and Training Authority
SMME Small Medium and Micro Enterprises
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training
VET Vocational Education and Training
WEF World Economic Forum
W&RSETA Wholesale & Retail Sector Education and Training Authority
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report presents the results of a study on entrepreneurship education in South Africa’s Further Education and Training Colleges, which currently total
50 institutions with over 260 campuses collectively, commissioned on behalf of the Human Resource Development Council by the Centre for Education
Policy Development. The study had eight objectives, as presented in table 1 below. The ultimate objective of the study was to “develop a set of
recommendations regarding measures that should be taken to stimulate entrepreneurial activity on FET college campuses so that pathways into self-
employment are created”. The methodology for the study comprised the review of local and international literature covering entrepreneurship
education generally but with a greater focus on entrepreneurship education within vocational education and training institutions; interviews with senior
College management and a company that develops the teaching material that is used by most Colleges to teach entrepreneurship and New venture
Creation; student focus groups and an emailed questionnaire completed by College lectures in entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation.
After presenting the overall background and methodology of the study, the report briefly discusses the importance of entrepreneurship education and
then presents a summary of key lessons from international experience based on international literature review. Next is the presentation of the key
findings of the study on current practice within South Africa. This section of the presentation is divided into four main topics: 1. Rationale for
entrepreneurship education within Colleges; 2. History and practice of entrepreneurship education within South Africa’s FET Colleges; 3. Local and
international links between Colleges; and 4. Forging partnerships with stakeholders outside the College. The main conclusion of the study is that, in the
main, current practice in South Africa’s FET Colleges reflects what the European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education
and Training would characterise as “weak programmes”, which have the following features:
• Entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system
• Student participation is limited
• Teaching methods are ineffective
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• The practical element of entrepreneurship is missing
• Teachers are not fully competent, mainly lacking practical experience in entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects or professions
• Business people are not sufficiently involved
While acknowledging the conceptual distinction between enterprise education, entrepreneurship education and innovation, this study does not delve
into a discussion of these conceptual distinctions as such a discussion is not deemed to make much useful contribution to the objectives of the study. A
total of twelve recommendations dealing with various aspects of current practice within South Africa’s FET Colleges are presented. The
recommendations are as follows:
Recommendation 1: Messaging and communication on the importance of entrepreneurship
Future efforts to drive the integration of entrepreneurship education into FET Colleges should communicate a more positive message about the need for
and role of entrepreneurship education. The message should emphasise the production of productive citizens who possess the requisite life skills and
attributes to contribute meaningfully to economic development and wealth creation whether as employees or entrepreneurs. Messaging should also
highlight the critical role played by entrepreneurs in an economy as producers and providers of goods and services, wealth creators, job creators and
generally as drivers of economic progress.
Recommendation 2: National government policy and leadership
The Department of Higher Education & Training needs to develop a clear national policy on entrepreneurship education and development within FET
Colleges. Such policy should clearly spell out the roles, individually and collaboratively, of various departments that have a role in entrepreneurship
education development, such as DHET, the dti and Economic Development Department. Strong ministerial leadership, similar to that provided by the
Minister of Higher Education & Training in the area of artisan development, is needed to spur efforts in the field of entrepreneurship education and
development.
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Recommendation 3: Curriculum
The curriculum urgently needs to be reviewed to be relevant to current economic realities. The curriculum should be extended to all College students
regardless of course of study. In the case of engineering studies, consideration should be given to extending the studies by a further trimester focused on
entrepreneurship education.
Recommendation 4: Structure of the course and teaching material
The business plan should be seen as the practical output of entrepreneurship learning and required only at the end of the coursework, that is, at N6
level. The business plan should demonstrate practical knowledge acquired during the course and be practical enough to guide the establishment of a real
business. The course material should be revised to place less emphasis on high-level knowledge of business theory but instead focus on giving students
practical guidance on how to start a business. Alternatively, students could be introduced to entrepreneurship during N4 and N5 and required to
undertake a practical project, which should preferably involve starting and running a real small-scale business, during N6. This would mean the
discontinuation of the expanding a business component of the teaching material and replacement thereof with a practical, hands-on business start-up
programme such as the well-established Dynamic Business Start-up Programme or ILO’s SYB (Start Your Business). The structure of the course and
content of the material would thus be as follows:
N4
Starting a business
(Curricular)
N5
Managing a business
(Curricular)
N6
Practical business creation training, business plan
development and small scale business start-up
(Curricular or extra-curricular)
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Recommendation 5: Funding
Entrepreneurship education and development should be mandated by government policy across all fields of learning and core funding provided by the
government to enable the sustainable implementation of programmes. Colleges could still be required to source additional funding from external sources
but this should be to augment core funding provided by the government.
Recommendation 6: Recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes
The experience gained in the process of starting up and running a business, especially one in the field of the student’s study, should be recognised by
Umalusi as meeting the requirements for the award of a National N Diploma. Colleges should make deliberate efforts to place students in small
businesses.
Recommendation 7: Dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College
Entrepreneurship development within a College should be driven by the Principal and clearly spelt out as a priority focus in the institution’s strategic
plan. An implementation champion should be clearly identified and appropriately resourced to drive the institution’s efforts in this field. To ensure
institution-wide buy in and focus on entrepreneurship development, it might be useful to place this institutional champion in an office with cross-cutting
responsibilities rather than one based within a particular academic department.
Recommendation 8: Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators
Give consideration to establishing an adequately-resourced National Coordinating Office (NCO) for entrepreneurship education and development either
inside or outside the department. The most probable locations outside the department would, in order of preference, be the Association of Colleges of
South Africa (ACoSA), which would keep the NCO closer to the Colleges, or Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (SEDA), which is tasked with small
business development nationally. The proposed NCO would be tasked with the responsibility for developing, implementing programmes for
entrepreneurship education and educator development.
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The NCO would fulfil the role of national coordinator for entrepreneurship education and development programmes across all Colleges, work closely with
various external stakeholders, forge international links and ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of College-based programmes. Core funding for
the NCO could be sourced from contributions by SETAs or the National Skills Fund (NSF). Additional funding could be raised through corporate and
international sponsorships.
Recommendation 9: Pedagogical and assessment approach
Pedagogical approaches need to be reviewed to incorporate a strong practical component and use of a variety of teaching and assessment methods such
as case studies, computer-based simulations, invitation to entrepreneurs and businesspeople to address students, and participation in business plan
competitions.
Recommendation 10: Student interest in entrepreneurship
An important element of driving entrepreneurship education within FET Colleges should be the elevation of the role and importance of entrepreneurship
within society at large. A visible public campaign to profile entrepreneurship as a worthy pursuit should be designed and executed alongside efforts to
drive entrepreneurship within FET Colleges.
Recommendation 11: Local and international linkages
Establish a national forum for those involved in entrepreneurship education and development within FET Colleges. Encourage and support local Colleges
to establish links (via the proposed National Coordinating Office – recommendation 8) with their counterparts in other parts of the world that are known
to have effective entrepreneurship education and development programmes.
Recommendation 12: Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships
Encourage Colleges to establish a platform for regular interaction between themselves and various stakeholders and prospective partners at local and
provincial level and measure the performance of Colleges in maintaining and developing these relationships. National and international stakeholder
relationships would be co-ordinated centrally via the proposed National Coordinating Office.
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I. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The Enabling Entrepreneurship Technical Task Team of the Human Resource Development Council commissioned research on entrepreneurship
education within South Africa’s Further Education and Training Colleges (FETCs), with the aim of understanding the extent to which the entrepreneurship
education curriculum offered by the Colleges equips graduates to start an run their own businesses, and how, if at all, the entrepreneurship education at
FET Colleges can be strengthened to improve training effectiveness and outcomes. The objectives of the proposed research study, as outlined in the
terms of reference for the assignment, are presented below. This report presents the results of the study and high-level recommendations.
Table 1: Objectives of the study
1. To review and outline best practice for FET College entrepreneurship education internationally
2. To identify critical success factors for effective entrepreneurship education at FET colleges in the country, based on international best practise standards to ensure
that training results in small business start-up and success
3. To assess the extent to which FET colleges actively support and promote entrepreneurial activity on campuses. This may include but is not limited to the
following: partnerships, coaching, mentoring, access to finance, markets, legal and tax advice, training, networking opportunities, guest speakers and the
provision of business incubators
4. Determine whether current course offerings, if any, adequately equip FET college graduates with the knowledge and skills to start and sustain their own small
businesses with a specific focus on curriculum content and relevance, lecturer qualifications and experience, as well as access to and use of technology
5. Determine whether FET college students studying programmes that do not include an entrepreneurship component would also benefit from exposure to such a
course
6. Probe the extent to which colleges are responsive to local economic and skills needs
7. Identify the key constraints hindering college graduates from starting and sustaining their own small businesses
8. Develop a set of recommendations regarding measures that should be taken to stimulate entrepreneurial activity on FET college campuses so that pathways into
self-employment are created
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II. METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS
The study followed a survey design, using the convenience sampling method. Initially FET Colleges were selected to participate in the study using a
proportional representation principle. However, in the end only those Colleges that were available to participate in the study were interviewed. This was
because the study was undertaken during the months of October and November, which proved to be a particularly busy time of the year for FET
Colleges. This is the time when College management are preparing their strategic plans for the following year and submitting them to the Department of
Higher Education and Training (DHET), when students are writing examinations and lecturers are invigilating and marking exams. Data for the study was
collected using several methods:
Table 2: Data collection methods
L
i
t
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
R
e
v
i
e
w
? Review of South African and international literature on entrepreneurship education in vocational education and training institutions and on youth
entrepreneurship in general
I
n
t
e
r
v
i
e
w
s
? Face-to-face interviews with key informants within FET Colleges. The majority of these were senior leadership (Principals / Deputy Principals /
CEOs). A fewer numbers of respondents were Skills Managers or Student Support Services Managers. A total of 27 interviews were conducted in
fifteen Colleges in six provinces using an unstructured interview schedule. The provinces covered are: Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Limpopo, North West and Western Cape.
? One in-depth face-to-face interview was conducted with the developer on the materials used by the majority of colleges (as reported by the
interviewee) to teach entrepreneurship and new venture creation (NVC). Copies of the course material developed by the interviewee’s company
for both entrepreneurship education and NVC were also obtained during this interview.
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Q
u
e
s
t
i
o
n
n
a
i
r
e
? Emailed six-page semi-structured questionnaires completed by entrepreneurship and NVC lecturers. A total of twenty questionnaires were
returned and eighteen of those were usable. The other two questionnaires were not included in the analysis because the majority of the questions
had not been answered. Thirteen of the respondents teach New Venture Creation and five teach entrepreneurship.
F
o
c
u
s
g
r
o
u
p
d
i
s
c
u
s
s
i
o
n
s
? Six student focus groups drawn from both Report 191 and National Certificate (Vocational) in four provinces – Eastern Cape (2), KwaZulu-Natal (2),
Limpopo (1) and Western Cape (1). In the case of Report 191 participants also included students enrolled for courses in which studying
entrepreneurship is a requirement and those in which it is not. A total of 48 students participated.
III. WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION?
The answer to the question about the importance of entrepreneurship education starts with an understanding of the importance of entrepreneurship
itself as a phenomenon. As the graphic below
1
shows, entrepreneurship is one of two sources of growth in any economy (the other being the expansion
of existing firms). Growth is a desirable economic outcome because it enables wealth creation, innovation and employment, all of which lead to rising
standards of living and economic and social advancement. Therefore, to achieve higher and sustained levels of national economic growth it is crucial to
both enable existing firms to expand and to drive the creation of new ventures through fostering greater levels of entrepreneurship within the
population. Entrepreneurship education is an important component of a milieu of critical conditions required to successfully drive innovation and
entrepreneurship, and ultimately economic growth, in any economy.
1
Based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project analytical framework
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Figure 1: The role of entrepreneurship education
National Economic
Growth:
Wealth creation,
Employment, Innovation
New Branches,
Firm Growth
Entrepreneurship
ATTITUDES:
Perceived Opportunities
Perceived Capacity
ACTIVITY:
Early-Stage
Persistence
Exits
ASPIRATIONS:
Growth
Innovation
Social Value Creation
Established Firms
(Primary Economy)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Government Policies Entrepreneurial
Finance Entrepreneurship Programs
Entrepreneurship Education
R&D Transfer
Commercial & Legal Infrastructure for
Entrepreneurship
Internal Market Openness
Physical Infrastructure for
Entrepreneurship
Cultural & Social Norms
Efficiency Enhancers
Higher Education and Training Goods
Market Efficiency
Labour Market Efficiency
Financial Market Sophistication
Technological Readiness
Market Size
Basic Requirements
Institutions
Infrastructure
Macroeconomic Stability
Health and Primary Education
Context
Social
Cultural
Political
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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The European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship and Vocational Education and Training captured the broad role and importance of
entrepreneurship education programmes thus:
“Entrepreneurial programmes and modules offer students the tools to think creatively, to be an effective problem
solver, to analyse a business idea objectively, and to communicate, network, lead, and evaluate any given project.
Students feel more confident about setting up their own businesses if they can test their ideas in an educational,
supportive environment. Education for entrepreneurship can be particularly effective in … vocational training, as
students are close to entering working life and self-employment may be a valuable option for them. ”However,
the benefits of entrepreneurship education are not limited to boosting start-ups, innovative ventures and new
jobs. Entrepreneurship is a competence for everyone, helping young people to be more creative and self-
confident in whatever they undertake”
South Africa’s National Treasury describes the role of entrepreneurship schemes in general, including entrepreneurship education as follows:
“Entrepreneurship schemes promote skills in young people with the objective of creating and managing sustainable and efficient businesses capable of
providing permanent jobs and employment growth.”
2
As can be seen from this statement, National Treasury also sees entrepreneurship development
playing an important role in responding to the challenge of unemployment, youth unemployment in particular, that the country currently faces.
The 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report on South Africa found significant deficits on the entrepreneurial outlook of South African youth
compared to several other sub-Saharan countries. The study shows that South Africa’s youth significantly lag their sub-Saharan counterparts when it
comes to key entrepreneurship indicators of:
2
National Treasury, February 2011
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? Young people’s perception of existence of good entrepreneurial opportunities within their economy
? Young people’s belief that they possess adequate entrepreneurial capabilities
? Young people’s entrepreneurial intentions, that is, intention to start a business
Table 3: Entrepreneurial outlook among South African youth
% Perceived Opportunities Entrepreneurial Capabilities Entrepreneurial Intentions
Nigeria 82 86 47
Ghana 80 86 62
Uganda 80 88 76
Zambia 79 84 58
Malawi 75 86 75
Namibia 74 76 48
Ethiopia 67 74 32
Botswana 66 70 77
South Africa 39 40 15
Source: Based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2012 Report
The main implication of this finding is that if the country is to experience meaningful growth in entrepreneurial activities involving young people,
considerable effort needs to be invested in fostering a more positive entrepreneurial outlook among the country’s young people. As shown in the figure
1 above, entrepreneurship education plays a vital role in fostering positive entrepreneurial attitudes, encouraging actual entrepreneurial activity and
strengthening entrepreneurial aspirations. The GEM research also shows that entrepreneurship education is one of two or three factors that play a key
role in influencing both entrepreneurial intentions and the transition from entrepreneurial intentions to actual entrepreneurial activity (tables 4 and 5).
Table 4: Factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions
Factor Mean
score
2012
Mean
score
2011
Mean
score
2010
Mean
score
2009
Cultural & social norms and
support from society
2.57 2.46 2.50 2.70
Vocational, professional &
tertiary-level entrepreneurship
education
2.53 2.51 2.44 2.86
Primary and secondary level
entrepreneurship education
1.81 2.03 1.75 2.18
Source: GEM 2012 Report
Table 5: Factors influencing transition from intention to activity
Factor Mean
score
2012
Mean
score
2011
Mean
score
2010
Mean
score
2009
Concrete government policies:
entrepreneurship priority & support
2.63 2.60 2.70 2.78
Financial environment and support
related to entrepreneurship
2.49 2.46 2.48 2.41
Primary and secondary level
entrepreneurship education
1.81 2.03 1.75 2.18
Source: GEM 2012 Report
GEM concludes that entrepreneurship education can have an impact on entrepreneurship development by leading to more positive attitudes toward a
career in entrepreneurship and improving perceptions of self-efficacy through the successful performing of crucial entrepreneurial tasks such as
identifying new business opportunities, creating new products, thinking creatively, and commercialising an idea. Higher perceptions of self-efficacy lead
to higher chances of entrepreneurial intentions. GEM also cites a 2008 Western Cape Status of the Youth Report, which argues that entrepreneurship
education can have a significant impact on four areas that are crucial to entrepreneurship:
? The learners’ self-confidence about their entrepreneurial abilities
? The learners’ understanding of business and financial matters
? The learners’ desire to pursue entrepreneurship
? The learners’ desire to further their education
All this shows that effective entrepreneurship education plays a crucial role in fostering entrepreneurial attitudes and actions. Thus, efforts to increase
greater economic participation by young people through entrepreneurship need to incorporate effective entrepreneurship education measures.
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IV. LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
1. European Commission
In November 2009 the European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education and Training published a report on
entrepreneurship in VET in twenty-four European countries.
3
The main findings of the study were that:
(a) In a majority of European countries entrepreneurship is included in the national curriculum for vocational education, at least to some extent, with
some countries reporting that as many as between 90% and 100% of vocational education students participate in entrepreneurship programmes at
some point during their vocational education path.
(b) Cooperation between vocational education institutions and enterprises is generally well established, particularly in countries where a dual system
of training is in operation.
(c) Recognising the importance of problem-driven and experience-oriented education in fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and abilities, the most
effective way to teach entrepreneurship, irrespective of the vocational training area, is to have students participate in practical projects and
activities, which emphasise learning by doing, enabling students to gain real-life experience with entrepreneurship.
3
The countries included in the report are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and UK
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(d) Non-profit organizations (NGOs) play an important role in organising entrepreneurship education in VET schools, especially by offering programmes
based on practical experience and working on projects. These organisations have close links with the business world, and often receive some form of
support from public authorities. Entrepreneurship education NGO programmes extensively use mini-companies or practice firm programmes,
enabling students to work on their own real or virtual firm.
(e) The most commonly used teaching methods are:
Table 6: Commonly Used Entrepreneurship Teaching Methods in Europe
• Lectures • Student companies • Project work and group work
• Company visits ? Computer simulations and business games • Work placements
(f) Entrepreneurship learning activities are either integrated into the compulsory curriculum or part of optional or extra-curricular activities
(g) Effective and successful entrepreneurship education programmes in VET institutions are characterised by eight good practice indicators, as follows:
Table 7: European Commission Good Practice Indicators for Entrepreneurship Education in VET Institutions
? The programme or activity has well-defined objectives and appropriate measures of success. It is regularly evaluated and valuation results are continuously
utilised to improve the programme
? There is a good balance between theory and practice: the programme or activity is action-oriented, based on experience and project work. It aims to
improve the students’ abilities to work in a team, develop and use networks, solve problems, and spot opportunities
? The programme or activity is adapted to the students’ learning environment and to their specific fields of study
? The VET institution has external links with enterprises, experienced business people and young entrepreneurs, and with the local community. Entrepreneurs
are involved in the learning process.
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? Students are exposed to real-life work situations and encouraged to take part in extracurricular activities. External events, activities and contests are
organised.
? Teachers have an appropriate qualification in entrepreneurship acquired through experience in business and/or participation in training programmes. They
use up-to-date study materials and up-to date knowledge in teaching entrepreneurship
? Students and teachers look beyond the borders of their institutions and exchange experience or ideas with other institutions, students from other countries
or those with other technical backgrounds.
? Students are followed up after participation in the programme, and are referred to the right support mechanisms if they want to start up a business.
(h) Weaker programmes have the following common characteristics:
? Entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system
? Student participation is limited
? Teaching methods are ineffective
? The practical element of entrepreneurship is missing
? Teachers are not fully competent, mainly lacking practical experience in entrepreneurship
? Entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects or professions
? Business people are not sufficiently involved
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The European Commission’s Expert Group recommended a set of measures to be undertaken at various levels to strengthen entrepreneurship education.
Table 8: European Commission Recommendations on Fostering Entrepreneurship Education in VET Institutions
Public authorities
? Make career exploration mandatory, and include entrepreneurship in vocational guidance
? Provide counselling for institutions and teachers in designing VET curricula, and disseminate successful experiences and practices
between VET institutions
? Support those non-profit organisations and NGOs whose mission is promoting and delivering entrepreneurship education, and
which act as intermediaries between vocational schools and businesses
? Contribute to the exchange of good practices, experiences and methods, in raising awareness and in monitoring and benchmarking
Vocational institutions
? Extend entrepreneurship to all fields of study in vocational education: link practical training in specific fields of study with the
objective of entrepreneurship
? Provide support for students interested in starting up a business.
? Make use of methods based on real experience (project work with real enterprises or with the local community, student mini-
companies, etc.)
? Ensure access to experts (from businesses, business associations, and NGOs) who can provide training and ongoing support
Business Associations ? Promote partnerships between VET institutions and enterprises, and motivate more business people to get involved in
entrepreneurship education
2. World Economic Forum
In April 2009 the World Economic Forum’s Global Education Initiative published a report titled: “Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs – Unlocking
entrepreneurial capabilities to meet the global challenges of the 21st Century”. The report spells out the types of capabilities that entrepreneurship
education should seek to develop among students. They are:
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• Entrepreneurial behaviours and mindsets
• Self-confidence, self-efficacy and leadership
• Creativity, innovation and ability to think “out of the box” to solve problems
• Managing complexity and unpredictability
• Basic business and financial skills
• Opportunity identification
• How to build, finance and grow ventures
• Negotiation skills
• Building relationships, networks and social capital
To successfully develop the above capabilities, “mainstream pedagogy” will need to change towards an approach that is hands-on, project-based,
multidisciplinary and non-linear. “Entrepreneurship is reflective action; no amount of book-based learning on its own will allow the student to progress in
this field”. The report identifies the most successful youth entrepreneurship programmes as those whose curriculum incorporates some or all of the
following activities:
• Simulations and games
• Interactive teamwork and group activities
• Direct, action-oriented market research
• Student buying and selling events, using real money
• Field trips to local businesses, especially entrepreneurial ventures
• Entrepreneurs or venture funders as guest speakers in class
• Business plan and other competitions, with businesspeople as judges
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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• Student-run businesses, using real money (including in-school stores)
• Mentoring, coaching and incubation
The World Economic Forum report identifies as success factors for entrepreneurship education programmes: (i) an explicit policy mandating and enabling
youth entrepreneurship education, (ii) strong governmental support at the highest levels, (iii) close partnerships with multiple stakeholders, (iv) a
dedicated national funding source and (v) Teachers as implementers, integrating entrepreneurship into core subjects. The report makes several pertinent
recommendations to drive successful entrepreneurship education.
Table 9: World Economic Forum Global Education Initiative’s Recommendations For Successful Entrepreneurship Education
? Require entrepreneurship education at public schools or, at least, make entrepreneurship education available as an option for all students
? Fund entrepreneurship education sufficiently
? Revamp training of new teachers to include entrepreneurship education and ensure that the pedagogy is experiential, action- and project-based, focusing on
problem-solving with practical application
? Encourage educational institutions to partner with business as well as other stakeholders from the public and private sector on entrepreneurship education
? Mandate certification of teachers in entrepreneurship education
? Encourage formal, direct links between teachers and entrepreneurs, and between educational institutions and companies, so that the theory and practice are
intertwined
? Encourage and fund research on and evaluation of youth entrepreneurship education
Lastly, the WEF stresses the importance of building an effective entrepreneurial ecosystem wherein multiple stakeholders play key roles. Within such an
ecosystem academic institutions play a central role in shaping young people’s attitudes, skills and behaviours. Actors outside of the education systems
play a critical role in working with educational institutions and programmes. Thus, effective entrepreneurship development requires collaboration and
multi-stakeholder partnerships, comprising government, academic institutions, business and various intermediaries, particularly NGOs (figure 2).
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Figure 2: Entrepreneurial ecosystem to underpin entrepreneurship education
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 8
3. United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific
In its 2012 Policy Guidebook for SME Development in Asia and The Pacific (p72-74) the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and The
Pacific discusses measures for fostering the culture of entrepreneurships generally and specific measures and initiatives focused on entrepreneurship
education with TVET institutions within the Asia and The Pacific region. On fostering the general culture of entrepreneurship it cites the OECD’s 2007
work, which identified a number of measures required to ensure greater levels of entrepreneurship within society. These are:
? Increase awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities
? Intensify enterprise education and awareness campaigns
? Create identifiable role models and champions
? Establish mentor and patron relationships
? Create incentives and support for business creation
? Create incentives for SMEs to train apprentices
? Enhance entrepreneurship within existing businesses
In several countries across the region, including China, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka
and Viet Nam, entrepreneurship education has been or is being introduced across the entire education system – at secondary, post-secondary,
vocational and technical schools, and in higher education. The report identifies the critical skills for successful entrepreneurship and urges that:
“Awareness of entrepreneurship should be integrated into the whole training process to encourage students
to see self-employment as a valuable career path. The specific skills needed for successful entrepreneurship
such as business plan drafting, accounting and marketing skills, knowledge of commercial laws, and the
administrative procedures for starting a business should be covered by the courses”.
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A TVET programme aimed at promoting entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka is presented as one example of how a programme of this kind might be structured.
The programme, a collaborative initiative between the Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education and the Ministry of Vocational Education and
Training, provides a comprehensive framework of knowledge and skills needed in entrepreneurial activities. The programme commences with a special
lecture on world trends and their implications for human resource development through TVET and is followed by three modules covering
entrepreneurship development and the role of TVET, personality improvement and entrepreneurial opportunities and enterprise set-up and
management. The delivery approach a variety of elements, including
• Interaction with resource persons on thematic papers
• Institutional and industrial visits
• Individual and group tasks
• Experiential learning
• Project work
The programme culminates in the development of a Business Plan and Action Plan for the establishment and promotion of a new business venture
(figure 3).
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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Figure 3: Overview of the TVET programme for entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka
SPECIAL LECTURE
The world trends and their implications for sustainable HRD through TVET
Module 1: Entrepreneurship Development and
Role of TVET
? Philosophy and concept of entrepreneurship
development
? A model for promotion of entrepreneurship in TVET
? Overview of entrepreneurial support system in Sri Lanka
Module 2: Personality Improvement and
Entrepreneurial Opportunities
? Achievement Motivation Training
? Process of selection of potential entrepreneurs
? Environmental scanning and entrepreneurial opportunity
development
Module 3: Enterprise Setup and Management
? SME management
? Entrepreneurship development through e-business
? Legal and taxation formalities
? Business plan preparation and formulation of action
plan for promotion of enterprise
Process
? Interaction with resource persons on thematic papers
? Institutional and industrial visits
? Individual and group tasks
? Experiential learning
? Project work
Output
? Preparation of a business plan
? Action plan for promoting the enterprise
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V. STATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PRACTICE IN FET COLLEGES
1. Rationale for entrepreneurship education
The need for and importance of entrepreneurship education at FET Colleges is generally acknowledged. However, this need tends to be defined too
much in negative rather than in positive terms. Entrepreneurship education is mainly seen as a response to the problem of unemployment of FET College
graduates, which, as one Principal put it, “is a risk to FET Colleges” (in terms of their performance). Viewed in these terms, entrepreneurship education is
crisis-driven. While this is legitimate response to the reality of high graduate unemployment, a more positive outlook would aid a more enthusiastic and
sustainable focus on entrepreneurship education as an enabler of economic development and social progress. A more positive view would see
entrepreneurship education going hand-in-hand with the core mandate of FET Colleges, which is to produce a skilled workforce for the country’s
economy. With them possessing valuable technical skills, equipping them with entrepreneurial skills is a logical and critical next step in producing
entrepreneurs that will contribute to growing the country’s economy. In addition, entrepreneurial skills are not relevant only for starting a business, but
also for equipping young people with a set of enterprising skills that are needed in virtually all pursuits in life.
“Unemployment is rife, partly because
people are unemployable. If they are
given the skill to employ themselves the
problem would be alleviated. It is
important to teach people to employ
themselves and create employment”
“FET Colleges produce skills that are
needed daily. So the skills by their nature
lend themselves to entrepreneurship. So
entrepreneurship development and FET
Colleges belong together”
“The most obvious answer is that
our formal economy is not big
enough to absorb graduates. So we
need to prepare graduates for self-
employment. It ties in well with
what we do as FET Colleges - it
teaches practical skills”
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2. History and practice of entrepreneurship education in FET Colleges
Entrepreneurship education is not a new phenomenon in FET Colleges. By many accounts it started as a NATED syllabus in the mid-1990s (95/96) and so
has been around for more than 20 years. However, it declined sharply around 2007 when a change in education policy was announced where NATED was
to be replaced with NC(V). The result was that Colleges that were running effective entrepreneurship education programmes largely abandoned these
programmes, resulting in the loss of the motivation, passion, capacity and partnerships that had been built up to drive entrepreneurship education.
Although entrepreneurship has re-emerged as a subject, its delivery is limited and, with the exception of a limited number of champions who have a
personal passion for it, the subject is still largely seen as an add-on and optional extra that competes with effective academic delivery. There are both
external and internal factors that hinder effective integration and delivery of entrepreneurship education. External factors are: (i) government policy and
leadership, (ii) curriculum, (iiI) structure of the course and teaching material, (iv) funding, and (v) lack of recognition of business creation and small
business experience for Diploma award purposes. Internal factors relate to: (i) lack of a dedicated internal entrepreneurship champion, (ii) knowledge
and motivation of entrepreneurship educators, (iii) teaching and assessment approach, and (iv) student interest in entrepreneurship.
2.1 National government policy and leadership
There is currently no national policy that makes entrepreneurship education at FET Colleges mandatory. Without this policy, there is lack of dedicated
focus on the part of both government and FET Colleges on driving entrepreneurship education and development. The important consequences of this
policy void are lack of national government leadership on entrepreneurship education and development within the context of FET Colleges, a curriculum
that is inadequate to foster effective entrepreneurship education and development and lack of government funding. The need for strong government
leadership in promoting entrepreneurship within FET Colleges was emphasised throughout the study.
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2.2 Curriculum
The present curriculum is viewed by College personnel and students alike as being “very academic, very theoretical and very little (that is) practical”. The
NATED entrepreneurship curriculum currently taught in Colleges was developed more than 20 years ago and has never been revised. It is therefore
considered by many to be outdated and in need of urgent revision. At NATED level, only business studies students undergo entrepreneurship education
whereas engineering students don’t. This is attributed to “old thinking” which was based on the fact that College students used to come from industry to
do theory at the College and therefore did not need entrepreneurship education as they were already employed. However, this has long changed as most
students who enrol at Colleges do not come from industry. Another factor hindering the introduction of entrepreneurship education to engineering
studies is the shorter duration (3 trimesters) of studies compared to business and management studies (3 semesters) and NC(V) (3 years). General
consensus is that it does not make sense to exclude engineering students from entrepreneurship education programmes. Lastly, because of its perceived
lack of flexibility, which results in the dire lack of the much-important practical component, the curriculum is seen as not adequately equipping students
to start a business but rather preparing them to serve as managers in an existing business.
“We teach them about
entrepreneurship – we
don’t teach them to be
entrepreneurs”
“The curriculum is not
designed to produce
entrepreneurs but managers
and administrators”
“We are not encouraged
to start a business”
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2.3 Structure of the course and teaching material
In the case of business and management studies at NATED level, entrepreneurship is a required subject at N4 and N5 levels. Colleges differ at N6 level
with some continuing to offer entrepreneurship but others replacing it with Income Tax. At National Certificate – Vocational [NC(V)] level, New Venture
Creation (NVC) is offered but is entirely optional. The material developers report that for reasons that are difficult to comprehend, virtually all Colleges
have opted to use the content presented in table 10 for their NVC training, as opposed to the entrepreneurship content presented in table 11, which is
more suited to teaching entrepreneurship.
Table 10: NC(V) Level 2 New Venture Creation Course Content
Module 1: The business environment Module 2: Investigate the markets and
needs for a new venture
Module 3: Financial requirements of a new
business venture
? Explain the structure and roles of different
types of organisations within their own industry
in South Africa
? Demonstrate an understanding of the concept
of a market
? Discuss and describe market positioning
? Explain the role of professional associations in
the business sector
? Identify potential customers for a new venture
? Survey opinions for products of the new venture
? Use statistical information to determine the type
of product / service most valued by different
communities
? Income and expenditure of a new venture
? Financial and cash flow requirements of a new
venture
? Pricing and costing principles
? Resources to obtain start-up capital
Judging by the above course content, it is understandable that several respondents expressed a view that the current practice within FET Colleges is to
teach students about entrepreneurship rather than to teach them to become entrepreneurs. With the exception of module 3, little in the above content
teaches the attributes and process of entrepreneurship and provides guidance in starting an actual business.
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Table 11: NC(V) Level 2 Entrepreneurship Course Content
Module 1: The entrepreneur Module 2: Marketing and customer relations Module 3: Basic finances
? Identify and discuss the characteristics of an
entrepreneur
? Advantages and disadvantages of
entrepreneurship
? Identify good business ideas
? Discuss and prepare a SWOT analysis
? Identify potential customers for a new venture
? Survey opinion for products of the new venture
? Promote product / service of new venture
? Discuss customer relations
? Explain basic principles of negotiation to secure
new business
? Basic financial terminology
? Processes and principles for pricing a product
? Financial management, record keeping and stock
control
Module 4: Manage time and work processes Module 5: The business plan
? Create, use and maintain a task list
? Use and maintain a diary
? Prioritise tasks
? Plan and follow a work schedule
? Compile entrepreneurial goals
? The business plan – planning your business plan
? Assessing the components of a given business
plan
At NATED level, the material follows the starting a business, managing a business and expanding a business structure at N4, N5 and N6, respectively.
Students are required to complete a business plan as part of their N4 level entrepreneurship studies. Requiring students to complete a business plan so
early in their studies (first semester) hardly enables them to use this practical tool to start a real business later on in their studies. For this reason, the
business plan is hardly seen by students as a tool to start a business. Moreover, some view the expanding a business component of the material, which
has a strong focus on strategic planning and doing business internationally, as being above the level of students and therefore not useful in encouraging
business start-up. Moreover, NATED students are required to undergo workplace training for another three semesters after completing their coursework
/ theory. During this time they are not exposed to entrepreneurship development of any kind. As a result, there are very limited chances that after
studying entrepreneurship during the first two semesters of a six-semester course graduates still possess the knowledge and motivation to start a
business when they complete their studies.
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Table 12: Content for Entrepreneurship and Business Management (EBM)
N4 - Starting your own business N5 - Managing your own business N6 - Expanding your own business
Module 1: The entrepreneur Module 1: Personal management Chapter 1: Strategic planning in your business
Module 2: Creativity and idea generation Module 2: Management Chapter 2: Dynamic business environment
Module 3: Market feasibility study Module 3: Ethics and social responsibility Chapter 3: Implementation of strategic planning in
your business
Module 4: Financial feasibility study Module 4: Organising your business Chapter 4: Competitive analysis
Module 5: The business plan – completing the
business plan
Module 5: Staffing your business Chapter 5: Strategy and competitive advantage
Module 6: The marketing plan Module 6: Labour relations Chapter 6: Buying an existing business
Module 7: The management plan Module 7: Control Chapter 7: Franchising
Module 8: The financial plan Module 8: Operations management Chapter 8: International business plan
Chapter 9: Consultancy
It should therefore come as no surprise that only a small number of lecturers could state with a strong degree of confidence that their College’s
entrepreneurship education efforts adequately prepare their students to actually start their own businesses (figure 4), with the majority stating that their
College’s training prepares students only “to some extent”, a clear acknowledgement that more needs to be done to ensure that current training enables
actual business start-up.
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2.4 Funding
Outside of business studies, entrepreneurship education and development is not a mandated activity by the Department of Higher Education & Training
and is therefore not funded as a distinct focal activity. Thus, it is left at the discretion of Colleges to fund and implement activities in this area.
Nota at all
To some extent
Adequately
6%
44%
22%
0%
22%
6%
Figure 4: How adequately does training prepare students to start their own
businesses?
New Venture Creation Entrepreneurship
“Entrepreneurship education is not a ‘policied’ activity to ensure
that all students are exposed to it. So there is no funding; it’s left to
Colleges’ discretion to budget for it. if it’s not ‘policied’ it won’t
happen. I don’t quite understand why given the level of
unemployment (among College graduates)”
“Government funding is
critical. There is currently no
focused funding, especially for
practicals”
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Limited funding resources mean that Colleges do not have the wherewithal to acquire human and other resources to effectively drive entrepreneurship
development programmes. For instance, while many Colleges talk about intentions to set up entrepreneurial support infrastructure such as centres of
entrepreneurship or business incubators, these plans are thwarted by lack of financial resources. To resolve their funding challenges, many Colleges have
forged partnerships with various external institutions such as SETAs, Chambers of Commerce, small business development agencies, municipalities and
provincial departments responsible for economic development. These partnerships, however, do not provide sustainable long term funding and their
interventions tend to be mainly of a project rather than programme nature. So most activities associated with these partnerships lack continuity and
longevity. This has a negative impact on long term entrepreneurship development plans of Colleges.
2.5 Lack of recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes
Currently, for the practical component of the student’s practical training to be recognised as meeting the requirements for the award of a National N
Diploma, the training should take place in a workplace where the training experience is structured, meaning that strong supervision should be provided
to the student. Secondly, the experience should relate to the qualification the student is pursuing. Portfolio of evidence is required. Under these
requirements, the process of starting a business may not qualify the student for the award of a National N Diploma. This militates against both Colleges
encouraging students to start their own businesses and students being keen to explore business start-up before completing their studies. While this is
reported to be gradually changing, Colleges still focus on placing students mainly in large companies where large numbers of students can be placed with
a single company and where they can receive structured and adequately supervised experience, as opposed to placing them in small businesses. This
significantly reduces the number of placement opportunities available to students. Even more importantly, this denies students the opportunities to be
exposed to the realities of running an entrepreneurial business, which could play a critical role in giving them the know-how and motivation to start and
run their own businesses. Innovation in this area could make a significant difference in efforts to encourage Colleges to steer their students in the
direction of starting and running their own businesses.
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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2.6 Lack of a dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College
In the absence of national policy mandating entrepreneurship development within Colleges, this activity is left to the initiative of Colleges and, in some
cases, particular individuals within those Colleges. Where such initiative is lacking, commitment to entrepreneurship development is nothing more than
rhetoric. The College’s entrepreneurship development efforts should be championed at the highest level of leadership within the institution. This would
give clear focus on and direction to these efforts and create the space necessary to effectively drive and coordinate the institution’s efforts. Thus, the
College Principal should the primary champion of the institution’s entrepreneurship development efforts, setting clear vision and strategy for the entire
institution. At the implementation level, views differ as to the best location and intuitional set-up to drive entrepreneurship development. A
predominant view favours the location of the College’s entrepreneurship activities under the Skills Manager. Other views favour location within the
academic stream or a dedicated centre for entrepreneurship or small business development.
2.7 Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators
Effective delivery of entrepreneurship education and development programmes is significantly impaired by the limited knowledge of and experience in
entrepreneurship on the part of most entrepreneurship educators. Firstly, as figure 5 shows, there is a significant number of lecturers who are currently
teaching entrepreneurship and / or New Venture Creation who have no academic qualification at all or who have very low qualifications. Even those
lecturers who have attained a Diploma or a Bachelor’s degree, who are in the majority, did not study entrepreneurship as part of their qualifications. So
lecturers are assigned to teach entrepreneurship or New Venture Creation on an as-needed basis without due consideration to their background in the
field.
“Skills Managers should champion entrepreneurship education. They deal with
learnerships and occupational programmes. Lecturers just see themselves as
academics. The rest of the stuff doesn’t belong to them”
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 20
Secondly, more than a third of lecturers participating in the study reported that they had less than one year of experience in industry, meaning that they
had very little or no previous exposure to business (figure 6).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
None
Higher Cert. or
below
Diploma or B.
degree
Postgraduate
Certificate
Honours
degree
Teaching
Technical
F
i
g
u
r
e
5
:
L
e
c
t
u
r
e
r
q
u
a
l
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
s
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 21
Moreover, whereas in the past (early ‘90s) there were organisations such as the Foundation for Entrepreneurship & Business Development (FEBDEV)
which specialised in training and motivating entrepreneurship educators, this type of support no longer exists. W&RSETA is reported to have previously
offered a one-week course on entrepreneurship aimed at New Venture Creation lecturers, but this was a once-off offering and is no longer available.
Thus, entrepreneurship educators are largely left to their own devices without any proper guidance inside the institution and equipping and motivation
from outside the institution. As a result many educators are reported to lack the requisite knowledge of the field, passion and motivation, which are
critical ingredients for successfully driving the institution’s entrepreneurship education and development programmes. Some respondents described the
situation thus:
38%
6%
28%
22%
6%
Figure 6: Industry experience among entrepreneurship /
New Venture Creation lecturers
0-12 months
1-2 years
3-4 years
5-10 years
More than 10 years
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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2.8 Pedagogical and assessment approach
The biggest criticism of current entrepreneurship education programmes within FET Colleges is that they are too academic and theoretical and lack the
practical element, which is an essential component of successful entrepreneurship education programmes. While there are innovations in this area in
some Colleges, with the use of business simulators and College-owned commercial ventures designed to give students opportunities to gain a certain
level of practical experience, many Colleges lack these facilities. The transmission method of teaching is predominant and case studies are hardly used.
There is virtually no involvement of practising entrepreneurs and businesspeople in the delivery of entrepreneurship education and development
programmes. There was no mention of use of computer-based business start-up and management simulations, although these are available on the
market and increasingly used in entrepreneurship education. Assessment in general is largely textbook-based and allows little room for students to
present their own ideas and solutions to problems. The business plans developed during NATED N4 are not assessed and no mark is allocated to them.
While workplace exposure was reported by one-third of lecturers as being one of the business learning opportunities available to students, the reality is
that many students struggle to obtain any placement opportunities at all and what placement opportunities become available are not specifically focused
on learning the practice of entrepreneurship. One student in a focus group observed:
“For the FET sector it will take some
doing before we have a critical mass of
lecturers who can produce students of
an entrepreneurial calibre”
“Entrepreneurship is done in NATED,
which has limited time, so lecturers
just push subjects. Entrepreneurship
requires more time. Lecturers say:
‘Where is the time?’”
“FEBDEV-type training is very
important. Now lecturers who have
no background in entrepreneurship
education are given responsibility to
teach (the subject) but may not have
passion and practical experience”
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 23
“All teaching was theory. I would add a practical component – maybe visit companies and
analyse them. Hospitality students do practicals every week on campus kitchens, EBM should
be the same”
4%
0%
17%
0%
4%
4%
13%
33%
25%
Business Plan Competition
Entrepreneurship Club
Guest speaker from private industry
Campus-based student start-ups
Case study competition
Business networking sessions
Entrepreneurship day / week
Workplace exposure / experience
None
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Figure 7: Business learning opportunities / pedagogy
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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2.9 Student interest in entrepreneurship
Students largely still prefer formal employment in larger companies which is viewed as safe and promises more lucrative career prospects compared to
pursuing one’s own business which is seen as a risk. This mindset, which also extends to a wider section of society, results in weak interest in
entrepreneurship education and programmes among most students. However, a sizeable number of students who have participated in entrepreneurship
and New Venture Creation studies had a positive view of entrepreneurship and self-employment. This shows that these programmes can and do have a
positive effect in changing the mindset of at least some students about entrepreneurship as a possible career option.
2.10 Other implementation constraints
Figure 8 below presents a summary of the various challenges experienced by FET Colleges in implementing entrepreneurship education programmes.
Weak partnerships, lecturer inexperience and training, curriculum and lack of funding have already been discussed earlier in the report. Two other key
constraints identified by lecturers is poor infrastructure, with reference to teaching resources and facilities and lack of internal and external support.
“When you chat to
students, they want
employment”
“Students here are
not thinking in terms
of entrepreneurship,
they’re looking for
jobs”
“When I came to the
College I thought I’ll go
and find a job. My
mindset has changed. I
can work for myself. I
don’t need to work for
somebody else”
“The mindset out there is
that you need to finish
your studies and work for
someone else. This course
changes your mindset. You
can start your own
business and create jobs”
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 25
Infrastructure can be divided into two elements: (i) Institutional and (ii) Physical facilities. On the institutional front, only a handful of Colleges reported
that they currently have or have previously had a Centre or Unit dedicated to entrepreneurship within the College. A few Colleges have business
simulators although in some instances these are not functioning as intended. It was also reported that some Colleges in Gauteng had in the past started
Incubation Centres but these had not worked well, largely due to an underdeveloped external and internal support environment. The external
environment related mainly to lack of funding and partnerships and the internal environment related to absence of enthusiastic champions. However,
there is currently a resurgence of dedicated Centres within Colleges, driven by the Department of Trade & Industry, Small Enterprise Development
Agency and the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Small Business Development.
7%
18%
14%
21%
14%
21%
4%
3%
16%
14%
19%
22%
24%
3%
Inadequate curriculum
Lack of support (internal & external)
Lecturer inexperience & training
Lack of funding
Lack of partnerships
Poor infrastructure (teaching resources &
facilities)
Lack of opportunities for practical experience
Figure 8: Limitations on effective delivery of training
New Venture Creation Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 26
Some Colleges are independently thinking of starting up their own Centres. Therefore the next several years will see the re-emergence of a number of
Centres of Entrepreneurship / Small Business and Business Incubators at various Colleges. This will call for significant and ongoing investment in capacity
development.
As far as physical facilities are concerned, figure 9 below presents lecturer responses to a question relating to access by students to computer and
communication facilities within the College. Only 30% of respondents said there was access to computers by all students. Access to the Internet and
social media, respectively, is much more limited. Even where access to computers and Internet were reported, in some cases this access was limited to
use only for assignment preparation. So students cannot, for instance, use these facilities to research business opportunities or search for information on
available support for business start-up. In other words, these facilities are currently being used mostly for academic purposes only.
30%
9%
21%
7%
11%
11%
2%
5%
5%
Computers
Social media
Internet
Figure 9: Student access to electronic learning tools
Hardly any students Some students All students
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 27
2.11 Business start-up support and monitoring
Given the various challenges faced by Colleges in effectively implementing their entrepreneurship education programmes, as presented earlier, it comes
as no surprise that there would virtually be no support provided to students to start their own businesses. By far the largest number of respondents
reported that their Colleges offer no business start-up support at all to their students (figure 10). Interviewee and lecturer responses also showed that
virtually all Colleges do not track their students after they complete their theoretical studies and so none could tell how many of their students had either
started their own businesses or were attempting to do so. Thus, monitoring of student progress in the field of business start-up is virtually non-existent.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Business Plan Development
Coachig and mentoring
Access to start-up finance
Access to markets
Additional training
Business incubation
Access to tax advice
Access to technology
Access to raw materials
Networking opportunities / referral
Access to legal advice
None
Figure 10: Postgraduate business start-up support
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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3. Local and international links
While there is a past example of KwaZulu-Natal based FET Colleges working collaboratively in developing material and delivering a small business
development programme under the auspices of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development & Tourism, this was an isolated case. In
general, FET Colleges have no mechanisms for collaboration in the field of entrepreneurship development. Similarly, only one College interviewed
reported collaboration in the field of entrepreneurship development with an overseas-based College. Greater level of institutional linkages and
collaboration among Colleges and between local Colleges and their overseas counterparts can significantly enhance collective experience sharing and
learning among Colleges.
4. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships
Partnership with various role players in entrepreneurship and small business development is recognised as among the critical success factors in College
entrepreneurship education and development programmes. Several Colleges have taken the initiative to establish once-off or ongoing partnerships with
various entities such as local chambers of commerce, Sector Education & Training Authorities, small business development agencies and incubators,
provincial government departments and municipalities, international development agencies, and large companies.
“We need a national forum and a
central office to coordinate for all
Colleges. Now we compete and
have to employ more people but
we don’t have money”
“There is no national
forum. You’re sort of
working in your own
environment”
“We have no global links
around entrepreneurship
education. We would be
keen to look and learn
internationally”
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 29
These partnerships provide important networking, collaboration and resource acquisition opportunities for participating Colleges. In particular, these
partnerships can provide support that is critical in enabling College students and graduates to establish and run their own businesses. This support can
take the form of incubation and other business development services such as mentorship (e.g. Seda), access to finance for business start-up (e.g. Sefa),
business skills development (e.g. SETAs), business networking (e.g. Chambers of Commerce) and access to markets (e.g. government departments,
municipalities and large companies). However, by far the largest group of respondents (29%) reported that their Colleges have not established any
external partnerships with various role players in entrepreneurship and small business development actors. This is despite the fact that lack of
partnerships has been identified as one of the critical success barriers (figure 8) and the recognition that partnerships are essential to success in this field
of endeavour.
National & provincial
government, 14%
International
organisations, 5%
Funding agencies, 10%
SMME support
agencies, 0%
SETAs, 24%
Business /
industry,
14%
Municipalities, 5%
None, 29%
Figure 11: External partnerships
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 30
VI. COMPARING THE SOUTH AFRICA SITUATION WITH INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE
A comparison of current South African practices with international practices reveals that, overall, South Africa exhibits most of the characteristics of what
the European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education and Training would characterise as “weak programmes”, whose
features are:
? Entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system
? Student participation is limited
? Teaching methods are ineffective
? The practical element of entrepreneurship is missing
? Teachers are not fully competent, mainly lacking practical experience in entrepreneurship
? Entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects or professions
? Business people are not sufficiently involved
The degree of intensity of the “weakness” obviously varies across these areas but generally the current situation can generally be characterised as being
more on the weaker side.
“You won’t succeed in doing this if
you don’t have partners – especially
to provide access to markets.
Otherwise you train for what?”
“There has to be partnerships because we
don’t have the requisite income. The only
way we as FET Colleges will be able to do
this is through partnerships”
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 31
This current status points to the significant amount of work that needs to be done to get entrepreneurship education and development going in earnest
within the country’s FET Colleges. In the last section of the report recommendations are presented on what needs to be done in order to turn this
situation around.
VII. CONCLUSION
This report presents the findings of a national study on entrepreneurship education in South Africa’s Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges
commissioned by the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) on behalf of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC). After presenting
the objectives and methodology of the study, the report presents the main findings from the review of international literature and data gathered in
South Africa through various methods as described in the methodology. The overall finding of the study is that current South African practice in
entrepreneurship education and development within the FET sector exhibits most of the characteristics of what the European Commission’s Expert
Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education and Training would characterise as “weak programmes”. Several recommendations are offered to
respond to this situation and to drive entrepreneurship education in FET Colleges in earnest.
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Messaging and communication on the importance of entrepreneurship
Recommendation 1: Future efforts to drive the integration of entrepreneurship education into FET Colleges should communicate a more positive
message about the need for and role of entrepreneurship education. The message should emphasise the production of productive citizens who possess
the requisite life skills and attributes to contribute meaningfully to economic development and wealth creation whether as employees or entrepreneurs.
Messaging should also highlight the critical role played by entrepreneurs in an economy as producers and providers of goods and services, wealth
creators, job creators and generally as drivers of economic progress.
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 32
2. National government policy and leadership
Recommendation 2: The Department of Higher Education & Training needs to develop a clear national policy on entrepreneurship education and
development within FET Colleges. Such policy should clearly spell out the roles, individually and collaboratively, of various departments that have a role
in entrepreneurship education development, such as DHET, the dti and Economic Development Department. Strong ministerial leadership, similar to that
provided by the Minister of Higher Education & Training in the area of artisan development, is needed to spur efforts in the field of entrepreneurship
education and development.
3. Curriculum
Recommendation 3: The curriculum urgently needs to be reviewed to be relevant to current economic realities. The curriculum should be extended to all
College students regardless of course of study. In the case of engineering studies, consideration should be given to extending the studies by a further
trimester focused on entrepreneurship education.
4. Structure of the course and teaching material
Recommendation 4: The business plan should be seen as the practical output of entrepreneurship learning and required only at the end of the
coursework, that is, at N6 level. The business plan should demonstrate practical knowledge acquired during the course and be practical enough to guide
the establishment of a real business. The course material should be revised to place less emphasis on high-level knowledge of business theory but
instead focus on giving students practical guidance on how to start a business. Alternatively, students could be introduced to entrepreneurship during N4
and N5 and required to undertake a practical project, which should preferably involve starting and running a real small-scale business, during N6. This
would mean the discontinuation of the expanding a business component of the teaching material and replacement thereof with a practical, hands-on
business start-up programme such as the well-established Dynamic Business Start-up Programme or ILO’s SYB (Start Your Business). The structure of the
course and content of the material would thus be as follows:
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 33
5. Funding
Recommendation 5: Entrepreneurship education and development should be mandated by government policy across all fields of learning and core
funding provided by the government to enable the sustainable implementation of programmes. Colleges could still be required to source additional
funding from external sources but this should be to augment core funding provided by the government.
6. Recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes
Recommendation 6: The experience gained in the process of starting up and running a business, especially one in the field of the student’s study, should
be recognised by Umalusi as meeting the requirements for the award of a National N Diploma. Colleges should make deliberate efforts to place students
in small businesses.
N4
Starting a business
(Curricular)
N5
Managing a business
(Curricular)
N6
Practical business creation training, business plan
development and small scale business start-up
(Curricular or extra-curricular)
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 34
7. Dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College
Recommendation 7: Entrepreneurship development within a College should be driven by the Principal and clearly spelt out as a priority focus in the
institution’s strategic plan. An implementation champion should be clearly identified and appropriately resourced to drive the institution’s efforts in this
field. To ensure institution-wide buy in and focus on entrepreneurship development, it might be useful to place this institutional champion in an office
with cross-cutting responsibilities rather than one based within a particular academic department.
8. Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators
Recommendation 8: Give consideration to establishing an adequately-resourced National Coordinating Office (NCO) for entrepreneurship education and
development either inside or outside the department. The most probable locations outside the department would, in order of preference, be the
Association of Colleges of South Africa (ACoSA), which would keep the NCO closer to the Colleges, or Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (SEDA), which is
tasked with small business development nationally. The proposed NCO would be tasked with the responsibility for developing, implementing
programmes for entrepreneurship education and educator development. The NCO would fulfil the role of national coordinator for entrepreneurship
education and development programmes across all Colleges, work closely with various external stakeholders, forge international links and ensure
effective monitoring and evaluation of College-based programmes. Core funding for the NCO could be sourced from contributions by SETAs or the
National Skills Fund (NSF). Additional funding could be raised through corporate and international sponsorships.
9. Pedagogical and assessment approach
Recommendation 9: Pedagogical approaches need to be reviewed to incorporate a strong practical component and use of a variety of teaching and
assessment methods such as case studies, computer-based simulations, invitation to entrepreneurs and businesspeople to address students, and
participation in business plan competitions.
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 35
10. Student interest in entrepreneurship
Recommendation 10: An important element of driving entrepreneurship education within FET Colleges should be the elevation of the role and
importance of entrepreneurship within society at large. A visible public campaign to profile entrepreneurship as a worthy pursuit should be designed and
executed alongside efforts to drive entrepreneurship within FET Colleges.
11. Local and international institutional linkages
Recommendation 11: Establish a national forum for those involved in entrepreneurship education and development within FET Colleges. Encourage and
support local Colleges to establish links (via the proposed National Coordinating Office – recommendation 8) with their counterparts in other parts of the
world that are known to have effective entrepreneurship education and development programmes.
12. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships
Recommendation 12: Encourage Colleges to establish a platform for regular interaction between themselves and various stakeholders and prospective
partners at local and provincial level and measure the performance of Colleges in maintaining and developing these relationships. National and
international stakeholder relationships would be co-ordinated centrally via the proposed National Coordinating Office.
doc_675123503.pdf
Elucidation relating to human resource development council study on entrepreneurship education in fet colleges.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL:
STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
IN FET COLLEGES
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 1
SUBMITTED TO
SUBMITTED BY
Centre for Education Policy Development
1st Floor, Block B, Empire Park
55 Empire Road
Parktown Ext.
Johannesburg
Osiba Management cc
Ground Floor Block F
The Palms Office Park
391 Main Avenue
Ferndale, Randburg
Date: December 2013
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 2
Table of Contents
LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
I. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE.................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
II. METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12
III. WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION? .................................................................................................................................................................. 13
IV. LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE............................................................................................................................................................ 1
1. European Commission ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
2. World Economic Forum ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
3. United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific ............................................................................................................................ 8
V. STATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PRACTICE IN FET COLLEGES .................................................................................................................... 11
1. Rationale for entrepreneurship education ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11
2. History and practice of entrepreneurship education in FET Colleges ............................................................................................................................... 12
2.1 National government policy and leadership ................................................................................................................................................................ 12
2.2 Curriculum .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3 Structure of the course and teaching material ............................................................................................................................................................ 14
2.4 Funding......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
2.5 Lack of recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes ..................................................................... 18
2.6 Lack of a dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College ............................................................................................................................. 19
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 3
2.7 Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators ................................................................................................................................ 19
2.8 Pedagogical and assessment approach ....................................................................................................................................................................... 22
2.9 Student interest in entrepreneurship .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24
2.10 Other implementation constraints ............................................................................................................................................................................ 24
2.11 Business start-up support and monitoring ................................................................................................................................................................ 27
3. Local and international links .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 28
4. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships ............................................................................................................................................................................ 28
VI. COMPARING THE SOUTH AFRICA SITUATION WITH INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE ........................................................................................................ 30
VII. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 31
1. Messaging and communication on the importance of entrepreneurship......................................................................................................................... 31
2. National government policy and leadership ...................................................................................................................................................................... 32
3. Curriculum .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
4. Structure of the course and teaching material .................................................................................................................................................................. 32
5. Funding............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33
6. Recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes ...................................................................................... 33
7. Dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College .................................................................................................................................................. 34
8. Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators ...................................................................................................................................... 34
9. Pedagogical and assessment approach ............................................................................................................................................................................. 34
10. Student interest in entrepreneurship .............................................................................................................................................................................. 35
11. Local and international institutional linkages .................................................................................................................................................................. 35
12. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships .......................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 4
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ACOSA Association of Colleges of South Africa
CEPD Centre for Education Policy Development
DHET Department of Higher Education and Training
dti (The) Department of Trade and Industry
FEBDEV Foundation for Entrepreneurship and Business Development
FET Further Education and Training
GEM Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
HRDC Human Resource Development Council
NC(V) National Certificate (Vocational)
NCO National Coordinating Office
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NSF National Skills Funds
NVC New Venture Creation
SACPO South African College Principals Organisation
SEDA Small Enterprise Development Agency
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 5
SETA Sector Education and Training Authority
SMME Small Medium and Micro Enterprises
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training
VET Vocational Education and Training
WEF World Economic Forum
W&RSETA Wholesale & Retail Sector Education and Training Authority
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report presents the results of a study on entrepreneurship education in South Africa’s Further Education and Training Colleges, which currently total
50 institutions with over 260 campuses collectively, commissioned on behalf of the Human Resource Development Council by the Centre for Education
Policy Development. The study had eight objectives, as presented in table 1 below. The ultimate objective of the study was to “develop a set of
recommendations regarding measures that should be taken to stimulate entrepreneurial activity on FET college campuses so that pathways into self-
employment are created”. The methodology for the study comprised the review of local and international literature covering entrepreneurship
education generally but with a greater focus on entrepreneurship education within vocational education and training institutions; interviews with senior
College management and a company that develops the teaching material that is used by most Colleges to teach entrepreneurship and New venture
Creation; student focus groups and an emailed questionnaire completed by College lectures in entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation.
After presenting the overall background and methodology of the study, the report briefly discusses the importance of entrepreneurship education and
then presents a summary of key lessons from international experience based on international literature review. Next is the presentation of the key
findings of the study on current practice within South Africa. This section of the presentation is divided into four main topics: 1. Rationale for
entrepreneurship education within Colleges; 2. History and practice of entrepreneurship education within South Africa’s FET Colleges; 3. Local and
international links between Colleges; and 4. Forging partnerships with stakeholders outside the College. The main conclusion of the study is that, in the
main, current practice in South Africa’s FET Colleges reflects what the European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education
and Training would characterise as “weak programmes”, which have the following features:
• Entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system
• Student participation is limited
• Teaching methods are ineffective
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 7
• The practical element of entrepreneurship is missing
• Teachers are not fully competent, mainly lacking practical experience in entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects or professions
• Business people are not sufficiently involved
While acknowledging the conceptual distinction between enterprise education, entrepreneurship education and innovation, this study does not delve
into a discussion of these conceptual distinctions as such a discussion is not deemed to make much useful contribution to the objectives of the study. A
total of twelve recommendations dealing with various aspects of current practice within South Africa’s FET Colleges are presented. The
recommendations are as follows:
Recommendation 1: Messaging and communication on the importance of entrepreneurship
Future efforts to drive the integration of entrepreneurship education into FET Colleges should communicate a more positive message about the need for
and role of entrepreneurship education. The message should emphasise the production of productive citizens who possess the requisite life skills and
attributes to contribute meaningfully to economic development and wealth creation whether as employees or entrepreneurs. Messaging should also
highlight the critical role played by entrepreneurs in an economy as producers and providers of goods and services, wealth creators, job creators and
generally as drivers of economic progress.
Recommendation 2: National government policy and leadership
The Department of Higher Education & Training needs to develop a clear national policy on entrepreneurship education and development within FET
Colleges. Such policy should clearly spell out the roles, individually and collaboratively, of various departments that have a role in entrepreneurship
education development, such as DHET, the dti and Economic Development Department. Strong ministerial leadership, similar to that provided by the
Minister of Higher Education & Training in the area of artisan development, is needed to spur efforts in the field of entrepreneurship education and
development.
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 8
Recommendation 3: Curriculum
The curriculum urgently needs to be reviewed to be relevant to current economic realities. The curriculum should be extended to all College students
regardless of course of study. In the case of engineering studies, consideration should be given to extending the studies by a further trimester focused on
entrepreneurship education.
Recommendation 4: Structure of the course and teaching material
The business plan should be seen as the practical output of entrepreneurship learning and required only at the end of the coursework, that is, at N6
level. The business plan should demonstrate practical knowledge acquired during the course and be practical enough to guide the establishment of a real
business. The course material should be revised to place less emphasis on high-level knowledge of business theory but instead focus on giving students
practical guidance on how to start a business. Alternatively, students could be introduced to entrepreneurship during N4 and N5 and required to
undertake a practical project, which should preferably involve starting and running a real small-scale business, during N6. This would mean the
discontinuation of the expanding a business component of the teaching material and replacement thereof with a practical, hands-on business start-up
programme such as the well-established Dynamic Business Start-up Programme or ILO’s SYB (Start Your Business). The structure of the course and
content of the material would thus be as follows:
N4
Starting a business
(Curricular)
N5
Managing a business
(Curricular)
N6
Practical business creation training, business plan
development and small scale business start-up
(Curricular or extra-curricular)
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 9
Recommendation 5: Funding
Entrepreneurship education and development should be mandated by government policy across all fields of learning and core funding provided by the
government to enable the sustainable implementation of programmes. Colleges could still be required to source additional funding from external sources
but this should be to augment core funding provided by the government.
Recommendation 6: Recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes
The experience gained in the process of starting up and running a business, especially one in the field of the student’s study, should be recognised by
Umalusi as meeting the requirements for the award of a National N Diploma. Colleges should make deliberate efforts to place students in small
businesses.
Recommendation 7: Dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College
Entrepreneurship development within a College should be driven by the Principal and clearly spelt out as a priority focus in the institution’s strategic
plan. An implementation champion should be clearly identified and appropriately resourced to drive the institution’s efforts in this field. To ensure
institution-wide buy in and focus on entrepreneurship development, it might be useful to place this institutional champion in an office with cross-cutting
responsibilities rather than one based within a particular academic department.
Recommendation 8: Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators
Give consideration to establishing an adequately-resourced National Coordinating Office (NCO) for entrepreneurship education and development either
inside or outside the department. The most probable locations outside the department would, in order of preference, be the Association of Colleges of
South Africa (ACoSA), which would keep the NCO closer to the Colleges, or Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (SEDA), which is tasked with small
business development nationally. The proposed NCO would be tasked with the responsibility for developing, implementing programmes for
entrepreneurship education and educator development.
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 10
The NCO would fulfil the role of national coordinator for entrepreneurship education and development programmes across all Colleges, work closely with
various external stakeholders, forge international links and ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of College-based programmes. Core funding for
the NCO could be sourced from contributions by SETAs or the National Skills Fund (NSF). Additional funding could be raised through corporate and
international sponsorships.
Recommendation 9: Pedagogical and assessment approach
Pedagogical approaches need to be reviewed to incorporate a strong practical component and use of a variety of teaching and assessment methods such
as case studies, computer-based simulations, invitation to entrepreneurs and businesspeople to address students, and participation in business plan
competitions.
Recommendation 10: Student interest in entrepreneurship
An important element of driving entrepreneurship education within FET Colleges should be the elevation of the role and importance of entrepreneurship
within society at large. A visible public campaign to profile entrepreneurship as a worthy pursuit should be designed and executed alongside efforts to
drive entrepreneurship within FET Colleges.
Recommendation 11: Local and international linkages
Establish a national forum for those involved in entrepreneurship education and development within FET Colleges. Encourage and support local Colleges
to establish links (via the proposed National Coordinating Office – recommendation 8) with their counterparts in other parts of the world that are known
to have effective entrepreneurship education and development programmes.
Recommendation 12: Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships
Encourage Colleges to establish a platform for regular interaction between themselves and various stakeholders and prospective partners at local and
provincial level and measure the performance of Colleges in maintaining and developing these relationships. National and international stakeholder
relationships would be co-ordinated centrally via the proposed National Coordinating Office.
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 11
I. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The Enabling Entrepreneurship Technical Task Team of the Human Resource Development Council commissioned research on entrepreneurship
education within South Africa’s Further Education and Training Colleges (FETCs), with the aim of understanding the extent to which the entrepreneurship
education curriculum offered by the Colleges equips graduates to start an run their own businesses, and how, if at all, the entrepreneurship education at
FET Colleges can be strengthened to improve training effectiveness and outcomes. The objectives of the proposed research study, as outlined in the
terms of reference for the assignment, are presented below. This report presents the results of the study and high-level recommendations.
Table 1: Objectives of the study
1. To review and outline best practice for FET College entrepreneurship education internationally
2. To identify critical success factors for effective entrepreneurship education at FET colleges in the country, based on international best practise standards to ensure
that training results in small business start-up and success
3. To assess the extent to which FET colleges actively support and promote entrepreneurial activity on campuses. This may include but is not limited to the
following: partnerships, coaching, mentoring, access to finance, markets, legal and tax advice, training, networking opportunities, guest speakers and the
provision of business incubators
4. Determine whether current course offerings, if any, adequately equip FET college graduates with the knowledge and skills to start and sustain their own small
businesses with a specific focus on curriculum content and relevance, lecturer qualifications and experience, as well as access to and use of technology
5. Determine whether FET college students studying programmes that do not include an entrepreneurship component would also benefit from exposure to such a
course
6. Probe the extent to which colleges are responsive to local economic and skills needs
7. Identify the key constraints hindering college graduates from starting and sustaining their own small businesses
8. Develop a set of recommendations regarding measures that should be taken to stimulate entrepreneurial activity on FET college campuses so that pathways into
self-employment are created
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 12
II. METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS
The study followed a survey design, using the convenience sampling method. Initially FET Colleges were selected to participate in the study using a
proportional representation principle. However, in the end only those Colleges that were available to participate in the study were interviewed. This was
because the study was undertaken during the months of October and November, which proved to be a particularly busy time of the year for FET
Colleges. This is the time when College management are preparing their strategic plans for the following year and submitting them to the Department of
Higher Education and Training (DHET), when students are writing examinations and lecturers are invigilating and marking exams. Data for the study was
collected using several methods:
Table 2: Data collection methods
L
i
t
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
R
e
v
i
e
w
? Review of South African and international literature on entrepreneurship education in vocational education and training institutions and on youth
entrepreneurship in general
I
n
t
e
r
v
i
e
w
s
? Face-to-face interviews with key informants within FET Colleges. The majority of these were senior leadership (Principals / Deputy Principals /
CEOs). A fewer numbers of respondents were Skills Managers or Student Support Services Managers. A total of 27 interviews were conducted in
fifteen Colleges in six provinces using an unstructured interview schedule. The provinces covered are: Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
Limpopo, North West and Western Cape.
? One in-depth face-to-face interview was conducted with the developer on the materials used by the majority of colleges (as reported by the
interviewee) to teach entrepreneurship and new venture creation (NVC). Copies of the course material developed by the interviewee’s company
for both entrepreneurship education and NVC were also obtained during this interview.
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 13
Q
u
e
s
t
i
o
n
n
a
i
r
e
? Emailed six-page semi-structured questionnaires completed by entrepreneurship and NVC lecturers. A total of twenty questionnaires were
returned and eighteen of those were usable. The other two questionnaires were not included in the analysis because the majority of the questions
had not been answered. Thirteen of the respondents teach New Venture Creation and five teach entrepreneurship.
F
o
c
u
s
g
r
o
u
p
d
i
s
c
u
s
s
i
o
n
s
? Six student focus groups drawn from both Report 191 and National Certificate (Vocational) in four provinces – Eastern Cape (2), KwaZulu-Natal (2),
Limpopo (1) and Western Cape (1). In the case of Report 191 participants also included students enrolled for courses in which studying
entrepreneurship is a requirement and those in which it is not. A total of 48 students participated.
III. WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION?
The answer to the question about the importance of entrepreneurship education starts with an understanding of the importance of entrepreneurship
itself as a phenomenon. As the graphic below
1
shows, entrepreneurship is one of two sources of growth in any economy (the other being the expansion
of existing firms). Growth is a desirable economic outcome because it enables wealth creation, innovation and employment, all of which lead to rising
standards of living and economic and social advancement. Therefore, to achieve higher and sustained levels of national economic growth it is crucial to
both enable existing firms to expand and to drive the creation of new ventures through fostering greater levels of entrepreneurship within the
population. Entrepreneurship education is an important component of a milieu of critical conditions required to successfully drive innovation and
entrepreneurship, and ultimately economic growth, in any economy.
1
Based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project analytical framework
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 14
Figure 1: The role of entrepreneurship education
National Economic
Growth:
Wealth creation,
Employment, Innovation
New Branches,
Firm Growth
Entrepreneurship
ATTITUDES:
Perceived Opportunities
Perceived Capacity
ACTIVITY:
Early-Stage
Persistence
Exits
ASPIRATIONS:
Growth
Innovation
Social Value Creation
Established Firms
(Primary Economy)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Government Policies Entrepreneurial
Finance Entrepreneurship Programs
Entrepreneurship Education
R&D Transfer
Commercial & Legal Infrastructure for
Entrepreneurship
Internal Market Openness
Physical Infrastructure for
Entrepreneurship
Cultural & Social Norms
Efficiency Enhancers
Higher Education and Training Goods
Market Efficiency
Labour Market Efficiency
Financial Market Sophistication
Technological Readiness
Market Size
Basic Requirements
Institutions
Infrastructure
Macroeconomic Stability
Health and Primary Education
Context
Social
Cultural
Political
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 15
The European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship and Vocational Education and Training captured the broad role and importance of
entrepreneurship education programmes thus:
“Entrepreneurial programmes and modules offer students the tools to think creatively, to be an effective problem
solver, to analyse a business idea objectively, and to communicate, network, lead, and evaluate any given project.
Students feel more confident about setting up their own businesses if they can test their ideas in an educational,
supportive environment. Education for entrepreneurship can be particularly effective in … vocational training, as
students are close to entering working life and self-employment may be a valuable option for them. ”However,
the benefits of entrepreneurship education are not limited to boosting start-ups, innovative ventures and new
jobs. Entrepreneurship is a competence for everyone, helping young people to be more creative and self-
confident in whatever they undertake”
South Africa’s National Treasury describes the role of entrepreneurship schemes in general, including entrepreneurship education as follows:
“Entrepreneurship schemes promote skills in young people with the objective of creating and managing sustainable and efficient businesses capable of
providing permanent jobs and employment growth.”
2
As can be seen from this statement, National Treasury also sees entrepreneurship development
playing an important role in responding to the challenge of unemployment, youth unemployment in particular, that the country currently faces.
The 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report on South Africa found significant deficits on the entrepreneurial outlook of South African youth
compared to several other sub-Saharan countries. The study shows that South Africa’s youth significantly lag their sub-Saharan counterparts when it
comes to key entrepreneurship indicators of:
2
National Treasury, February 2011
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? Young people’s perception of existence of good entrepreneurial opportunities within their economy
? Young people’s belief that they possess adequate entrepreneurial capabilities
? Young people’s entrepreneurial intentions, that is, intention to start a business
Table 3: Entrepreneurial outlook among South African youth
% Perceived Opportunities Entrepreneurial Capabilities Entrepreneurial Intentions
Nigeria 82 86 47
Ghana 80 86 62
Uganda 80 88 76
Zambia 79 84 58
Malawi 75 86 75
Namibia 74 76 48
Ethiopia 67 74 32
Botswana 66 70 77
South Africa 39 40 15
Source: Based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2012 Report
The main implication of this finding is that if the country is to experience meaningful growth in entrepreneurial activities involving young people,
considerable effort needs to be invested in fostering a more positive entrepreneurial outlook among the country’s young people. As shown in the figure
1 above, entrepreneurship education plays a vital role in fostering positive entrepreneurial attitudes, encouraging actual entrepreneurial activity and
strengthening entrepreneurial aspirations. The GEM research also shows that entrepreneurship education is one of two or three factors that play a key
role in influencing both entrepreneurial intentions and the transition from entrepreneurial intentions to actual entrepreneurial activity (tables 4 and 5).
Table 4: Factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions
Factor Mean
score
2012
Mean
score
2011
Mean
score
2010
Mean
score
2009
Cultural & social norms and
support from society
2.57 2.46 2.50 2.70
Vocational, professional &
tertiary-level entrepreneurship
education
2.53 2.51 2.44 2.86
Primary and secondary level
entrepreneurship education
1.81 2.03 1.75 2.18
Source: GEM 2012 Report
Table 5: Factors influencing transition from intention to activity
Factor Mean
score
2012
Mean
score
2011
Mean
score
2010
Mean
score
2009
Concrete government policies:
entrepreneurship priority & support
2.63 2.60 2.70 2.78
Financial environment and support
related to entrepreneurship
2.49 2.46 2.48 2.41
Primary and secondary level
entrepreneurship education
1.81 2.03 1.75 2.18
Source: GEM 2012 Report
GEM concludes that entrepreneurship education can have an impact on entrepreneurship development by leading to more positive attitudes toward a
career in entrepreneurship and improving perceptions of self-efficacy through the successful performing of crucial entrepreneurial tasks such as
identifying new business opportunities, creating new products, thinking creatively, and commercialising an idea. Higher perceptions of self-efficacy lead
to higher chances of entrepreneurial intentions. GEM also cites a 2008 Western Cape Status of the Youth Report, which argues that entrepreneurship
education can have a significant impact on four areas that are crucial to entrepreneurship:
? The learners’ self-confidence about their entrepreneurial abilities
? The learners’ understanding of business and financial matters
? The learners’ desire to pursue entrepreneurship
? The learners’ desire to further their education
All this shows that effective entrepreneurship education plays a crucial role in fostering entrepreneurial attitudes and actions. Thus, efforts to increase
greater economic participation by young people through entrepreneurship need to incorporate effective entrepreneurship education measures.
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IV. LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
1. European Commission
In November 2009 the European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education and Training published a report on
entrepreneurship in VET in twenty-four European countries.
3
The main findings of the study were that:
(a) In a majority of European countries entrepreneurship is included in the national curriculum for vocational education, at least to some extent, with
some countries reporting that as many as between 90% and 100% of vocational education students participate in entrepreneurship programmes at
some point during their vocational education path.
(b) Cooperation between vocational education institutions and enterprises is generally well established, particularly in countries where a dual system
of training is in operation.
(c) Recognising the importance of problem-driven and experience-oriented education in fostering entrepreneurial mindsets and abilities, the most
effective way to teach entrepreneurship, irrespective of the vocational training area, is to have students participate in practical projects and
activities, which emphasise learning by doing, enabling students to gain real-life experience with entrepreneurship.
3
The countries included in the report are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and UK
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(d) Non-profit organizations (NGOs) play an important role in organising entrepreneurship education in VET schools, especially by offering programmes
based on practical experience and working on projects. These organisations have close links with the business world, and often receive some form of
support from public authorities. Entrepreneurship education NGO programmes extensively use mini-companies or practice firm programmes,
enabling students to work on their own real or virtual firm.
(e) The most commonly used teaching methods are:
Table 6: Commonly Used Entrepreneurship Teaching Methods in Europe
• Lectures • Student companies • Project work and group work
• Company visits ? Computer simulations and business games • Work placements
(f) Entrepreneurship learning activities are either integrated into the compulsory curriculum or part of optional or extra-curricular activities
(g) Effective and successful entrepreneurship education programmes in VET institutions are characterised by eight good practice indicators, as follows:
Table 7: European Commission Good Practice Indicators for Entrepreneurship Education in VET Institutions
? The programme or activity has well-defined objectives and appropriate measures of success. It is regularly evaluated and valuation results are continuously
utilised to improve the programme
? There is a good balance between theory and practice: the programme or activity is action-oriented, based on experience and project work. It aims to
improve the students’ abilities to work in a team, develop and use networks, solve problems, and spot opportunities
? The programme or activity is adapted to the students’ learning environment and to their specific fields of study
? The VET institution has external links with enterprises, experienced business people and young entrepreneurs, and with the local community. Entrepreneurs
are involved in the learning process.
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? Students are exposed to real-life work situations and encouraged to take part in extracurricular activities. External events, activities and contests are
organised.
? Teachers have an appropriate qualification in entrepreneurship acquired through experience in business and/or participation in training programmes. They
use up-to-date study materials and up-to date knowledge in teaching entrepreneurship
? Students and teachers look beyond the borders of their institutions and exchange experience or ideas with other institutions, students from other countries
or those with other technical backgrounds.
? Students are followed up after participation in the programme, and are referred to the right support mechanisms if they want to start up a business.
(h) Weaker programmes have the following common characteristics:
? Entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system
? Student participation is limited
? Teaching methods are ineffective
? The practical element of entrepreneurship is missing
? Teachers are not fully competent, mainly lacking practical experience in entrepreneurship
? Entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects or professions
? Business people are not sufficiently involved
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The European Commission’s Expert Group recommended a set of measures to be undertaken at various levels to strengthen entrepreneurship education.
Table 8: European Commission Recommendations on Fostering Entrepreneurship Education in VET Institutions
Public authorities
? Make career exploration mandatory, and include entrepreneurship in vocational guidance
? Provide counselling for institutions and teachers in designing VET curricula, and disseminate successful experiences and practices
between VET institutions
? Support those non-profit organisations and NGOs whose mission is promoting and delivering entrepreneurship education, and
which act as intermediaries between vocational schools and businesses
? Contribute to the exchange of good practices, experiences and methods, in raising awareness and in monitoring and benchmarking
Vocational institutions
? Extend entrepreneurship to all fields of study in vocational education: link practical training in specific fields of study with the
objective of entrepreneurship
? Provide support for students interested in starting up a business.
? Make use of methods based on real experience (project work with real enterprises or with the local community, student mini-
companies, etc.)
? Ensure access to experts (from businesses, business associations, and NGOs) who can provide training and ongoing support
Business Associations ? Promote partnerships between VET institutions and enterprises, and motivate more business people to get involved in
entrepreneurship education
2. World Economic Forum
In April 2009 the World Economic Forum’s Global Education Initiative published a report titled: “Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs – Unlocking
entrepreneurial capabilities to meet the global challenges of the 21st Century”. The report spells out the types of capabilities that entrepreneurship
education should seek to develop among students. They are:
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• Entrepreneurial behaviours and mindsets
• Self-confidence, self-efficacy and leadership
• Creativity, innovation and ability to think “out of the box” to solve problems
• Managing complexity and unpredictability
• Basic business and financial skills
• Opportunity identification
• How to build, finance and grow ventures
• Negotiation skills
• Building relationships, networks and social capital
To successfully develop the above capabilities, “mainstream pedagogy” will need to change towards an approach that is hands-on, project-based,
multidisciplinary and non-linear. “Entrepreneurship is reflective action; no amount of book-based learning on its own will allow the student to progress in
this field”. The report identifies the most successful youth entrepreneurship programmes as those whose curriculum incorporates some or all of the
following activities:
• Simulations and games
• Interactive teamwork and group activities
• Direct, action-oriented market research
• Student buying and selling events, using real money
• Field trips to local businesses, especially entrepreneurial ventures
• Entrepreneurs or venture funders as guest speakers in class
• Business plan and other competitions, with businesspeople as judges
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• Student-run businesses, using real money (including in-school stores)
• Mentoring, coaching and incubation
The World Economic Forum report identifies as success factors for entrepreneurship education programmes: (i) an explicit policy mandating and enabling
youth entrepreneurship education, (ii) strong governmental support at the highest levels, (iii) close partnerships with multiple stakeholders, (iv) a
dedicated national funding source and (v) Teachers as implementers, integrating entrepreneurship into core subjects. The report makes several pertinent
recommendations to drive successful entrepreneurship education.
Table 9: World Economic Forum Global Education Initiative’s Recommendations For Successful Entrepreneurship Education
? Require entrepreneurship education at public schools or, at least, make entrepreneurship education available as an option for all students
? Fund entrepreneurship education sufficiently
? Revamp training of new teachers to include entrepreneurship education and ensure that the pedagogy is experiential, action- and project-based, focusing on
problem-solving with practical application
? Encourage educational institutions to partner with business as well as other stakeholders from the public and private sector on entrepreneurship education
? Mandate certification of teachers in entrepreneurship education
? Encourage formal, direct links between teachers and entrepreneurs, and between educational institutions and companies, so that the theory and practice are
intertwined
? Encourage and fund research on and evaluation of youth entrepreneurship education
Lastly, the WEF stresses the importance of building an effective entrepreneurial ecosystem wherein multiple stakeholders play key roles. Within such an
ecosystem academic institutions play a central role in shaping young people’s attitudes, skills and behaviours. Actors outside of the education systems
play a critical role in working with educational institutions and programmes. Thus, effective entrepreneurship development requires collaboration and
multi-stakeholder partnerships, comprising government, academic institutions, business and various intermediaries, particularly NGOs (figure 2).
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Figure 2: Entrepreneurial ecosystem to underpin entrepreneurship education
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3. United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific
In its 2012 Policy Guidebook for SME Development in Asia and The Pacific (p72-74) the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and The
Pacific discusses measures for fostering the culture of entrepreneurships generally and specific measures and initiatives focused on entrepreneurship
education with TVET institutions within the Asia and The Pacific region. On fostering the general culture of entrepreneurship it cites the OECD’s 2007
work, which identified a number of measures required to ensure greater levels of entrepreneurship within society. These are:
? Increase awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities
? Intensify enterprise education and awareness campaigns
? Create identifiable role models and champions
? Establish mentor and patron relationships
? Create incentives and support for business creation
? Create incentives for SMEs to train apprentices
? Enhance entrepreneurship within existing businesses
In several countries across the region, including China, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka
and Viet Nam, entrepreneurship education has been or is being introduced across the entire education system – at secondary, post-secondary,
vocational and technical schools, and in higher education. The report identifies the critical skills for successful entrepreneurship and urges that:
“Awareness of entrepreneurship should be integrated into the whole training process to encourage students
to see self-employment as a valuable career path. The specific skills needed for successful entrepreneurship
such as business plan drafting, accounting and marketing skills, knowledge of commercial laws, and the
administrative procedures for starting a business should be covered by the courses”.
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A TVET programme aimed at promoting entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka is presented as one example of how a programme of this kind might be structured.
The programme, a collaborative initiative between the Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education and the Ministry of Vocational Education and
Training, provides a comprehensive framework of knowledge and skills needed in entrepreneurial activities. The programme commences with a special
lecture on world trends and their implications for human resource development through TVET and is followed by three modules covering
entrepreneurship development and the role of TVET, personality improvement and entrepreneurial opportunities and enterprise set-up and
management. The delivery approach a variety of elements, including
• Interaction with resource persons on thematic papers
• Institutional and industrial visits
• Individual and group tasks
• Experiential learning
• Project work
The programme culminates in the development of a Business Plan and Action Plan for the establishment and promotion of a new business venture
(figure 3).
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Figure 3: Overview of the TVET programme for entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka
SPECIAL LECTURE
The world trends and their implications for sustainable HRD through TVET
Module 1: Entrepreneurship Development and
Role of TVET
? Philosophy and concept of entrepreneurship
development
? A model for promotion of entrepreneurship in TVET
? Overview of entrepreneurial support system in Sri Lanka
Module 2: Personality Improvement and
Entrepreneurial Opportunities
? Achievement Motivation Training
? Process of selection of potential entrepreneurs
? Environmental scanning and entrepreneurial opportunity
development
Module 3: Enterprise Setup and Management
? SME management
? Entrepreneurship development through e-business
? Legal and taxation formalities
? Business plan preparation and formulation of action
plan for promotion of enterprise
Process
? Interaction with resource persons on thematic papers
? Institutional and industrial visits
? Individual and group tasks
? Experiential learning
? Project work
Output
? Preparation of a business plan
? Action plan for promoting the enterprise
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V. STATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PRACTICE IN FET COLLEGES
1. Rationale for entrepreneurship education
The need for and importance of entrepreneurship education at FET Colleges is generally acknowledged. However, this need tends to be defined too
much in negative rather than in positive terms. Entrepreneurship education is mainly seen as a response to the problem of unemployment of FET College
graduates, which, as one Principal put it, “is a risk to FET Colleges” (in terms of their performance). Viewed in these terms, entrepreneurship education is
crisis-driven. While this is legitimate response to the reality of high graduate unemployment, a more positive outlook would aid a more enthusiastic and
sustainable focus on entrepreneurship education as an enabler of economic development and social progress. A more positive view would see
entrepreneurship education going hand-in-hand with the core mandate of FET Colleges, which is to produce a skilled workforce for the country’s
economy. With them possessing valuable technical skills, equipping them with entrepreneurial skills is a logical and critical next step in producing
entrepreneurs that will contribute to growing the country’s economy. In addition, entrepreneurial skills are not relevant only for starting a business, but
also for equipping young people with a set of enterprising skills that are needed in virtually all pursuits in life.
“Unemployment is rife, partly because
people are unemployable. If they are
given the skill to employ themselves the
problem would be alleviated. It is
important to teach people to employ
themselves and create employment”
“FET Colleges produce skills that are
needed daily. So the skills by their nature
lend themselves to entrepreneurship. So
entrepreneurship development and FET
Colleges belong together”
“The most obvious answer is that
our formal economy is not big
enough to absorb graduates. So we
need to prepare graduates for self-
employment. It ties in well with
what we do as FET Colleges - it
teaches practical skills”
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2. History and practice of entrepreneurship education in FET Colleges
Entrepreneurship education is not a new phenomenon in FET Colleges. By many accounts it started as a NATED syllabus in the mid-1990s (95/96) and so
has been around for more than 20 years. However, it declined sharply around 2007 when a change in education policy was announced where NATED was
to be replaced with NC(V). The result was that Colleges that were running effective entrepreneurship education programmes largely abandoned these
programmes, resulting in the loss of the motivation, passion, capacity and partnerships that had been built up to drive entrepreneurship education.
Although entrepreneurship has re-emerged as a subject, its delivery is limited and, with the exception of a limited number of champions who have a
personal passion for it, the subject is still largely seen as an add-on and optional extra that competes with effective academic delivery. There are both
external and internal factors that hinder effective integration and delivery of entrepreneurship education. External factors are: (i) government policy and
leadership, (ii) curriculum, (iiI) structure of the course and teaching material, (iv) funding, and (v) lack of recognition of business creation and small
business experience for Diploma award purposes. Internal factors relate to: (i) lack of a dedicated internal entrepreneurship champion, (ii) knowledge
and motivation of entrepreneurship educators, (iii) teaching and assessment approach, and (iv) student interest in entrepreneurship.
2.1 National government policy and leadership
There is currently no national policy that makes entrepreneurship education at FET Colleges mandatory. Without this policy, there is lack of dedicated
focus on the part of both government and FET Colleges on driving entrepreneurship education and development. The important consequences of this
policy void are lack of national government leadership on entrepreneurship education and development within the context of FET Colleges, a curriculum
that is inadequate to foster effective entrepreneurship education and development and lack of government funding. The need for strong government
leadership in promoting entrepreneurship within FET Colleges was emphasised throughout the study.
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2.2 Curriculum
The present curriculum is viewed by College personnel and students alike as being “very academic, very theoretical and very little (that is) practical”. The
NATED entrepreneurship curriculum currently taught in Colleges was developed more than 20 years ago and has never been revised. It is therefore
considered by many to be outdated and in need of urgent revision. At NATED level, only business studies students undergo entrepreneurship education
whereas engineering students don’t. This is attributed to “old thinking” which was based on the fact that College students used to come from industry to
do theory at the College and therefore did not need entrepreneurship education as they were already employed. However, this has long changed as most
students who enrol at Colleges do not come from industry. Another factor hindering the introduction of entrepreneurship education to engineering
studies is the shorter duration (3 trimesters) of studies compared to business and management studies (3 semesters) and NC(V) (3 years). General
consensus is that it does not make sense to exclude engineering students from entrepreneurship education programmes. Lastly, because of its perceived
lack of flexibility, which results in the dire lack of the much-important practical component, the curriculum is seen as not adequately equipping students
to start a business but rather preparing them to serve as managers in an existing business.
“We teach them about
entrepreneurship – we
don’t teach them to be
entrepreneurs”
“The curriculum is not
designed to produce
entrepreneurs but managers
and administrators”
“We are not encouraged
to start a business”
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2.3 Structure of the course and teaching material
In the case of business and management studies at NATED level, entrepreneurship is a required subject at N4 and N5 levels. Colleges differ at N6 level
with some continuing to offer entrepreneurship but others replacing it with Income Tax. At National Certificate – Vocational [NC(V)] level, New Venture
Creation (NVC) is offered but is entirely optional. The material developers report that for reasons that are difficult to comprehend, virtually all Colleges
have opted to use the content presented in table 10 for their NVC training, as opposed to the entrepreneurship content presented in table 11, which is
more suited to teaching entrepreneurship.
Table 10: NC(V) Level 2 New Venture Creation Course Content
Module 1: The business environment Module 2: Investigate the markets and
needs for a new venture
Module 3: Financial requirements of a new
business venture
? Explain the structure and roles of different
types of organisations within their own industry
in South Africa
? Demonstrate an understanding of the concept
of a market
? Discuss and describe market positioning
? Explain the role of professional associations in
the business sector
? Identify potential customers for a new venture
? Survey opinions for products of the new venture
? Use statistical information to determine the type
of product / service most valued by different
communities
? Income and expenditure of a new venture
? Financial and cash flow requirements of a new
venture
? Pricing and costing principles
? Resources to obtain start-up capital
Judging by the above course content, it is understandable that several respondents expressed a view that the current practice within FET Colleges is to
teach students about entrepreneurship rather than to teach them to become entrepreneurs. With the exception of module 3, little in the above content
teaches the attributes and process of entrepreneurship and provides guidance in starting an actual business.
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Table 11: NC(V) Level 2 Entrepreneurship Course Content
Module 1: The entrepreneur Module 2: Marketing and customer relations Module 3: Basic finances
? Identify and discuss the characteristics of an
entrepreneur
? Advantages and disadvantages of
entrepreneurship
? Identify good business ideas
? Discuss and prepare a SWOT analysis
? Identify potential customers for a new venture
? Survey opinion for products of the new venture
? Promote product / service of new venture
? Discuss customer relations
? Explain basic principles of negotiation to secure
new business
? Basic financial terminology
? Processes and principles for pricing a product
? Financial management, record keeping and stock
control
Module 4: Manage time and work processes Module 5: The business plan
? Create, use and maintain a task list
? Use and maintain a diary
? Prioritise tasks
? Plan and follow a work schedule
? Compile entrepreneurial goals
? The business plan – planning your business plan
? Assessing the components of a given business
plan
At NATED level, the material follows the starting a business, managing a business and expanding a business structure at N4, N5 and N6, respectively.
Students are required to complete a business plan as part of their N4 level entrepreneurship studies. Requiring students to complete a business plan so
early in their studies (first semester) hardly enables them to use this practical tool to start a real business later on in their studies. For this reason, the
business plan is hardly seen by students as a tool to start a business. Moreover, some view the expanding a business component of the material, which
has a strong focus on strategic planning and doing business internationally, as being above the level of students and therefore not useful in encouraging
business start-up. Moreover, NATED students are required to undergo workplace training for another three semesters after completing their coursework
/ theory. During this time they are not exposed to entrepreneurship development of any kind. As a result, there are very limited chances that after
studying entrepreneurship during the first two semesters of a six-semester course graduates still possess the knowledge and motivation to start a
business when they complete their studies.
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Table 12: Content for Entrepreneurship and Business Management (EBM)
N4 - Starting your own business N5 - Managing your own business N6 - Expanding your own business
Module 1: The entrepreneur Module 1: Personal management Chapter 1: Strategic planning in your business
Module 2: Creativity and idea generation Module 2: Management Chapter 2: Dynamic business environment
Module 3: Market feasibility study Module 3: Ethics and social responsibility Chapter 3: Implementation of strategic planning in
your business
Module 4: Financial feasibility study Module 4: Organising your business Chapter 4: Competitive analysis
Module 5: The business plan – completing the
business plan
Module 5: Staffing your business Chapter 5: Strategy and competitive advantage
Module 6: The marketing plan Module 6: Labour relations Chapter 6: Buying an existing business
Module 7: The management plan Module 7: Control Chapter 7: Franchising
Module 8: The financial plan Module 8: Operations management Chapter 8: International business plan
Chapter 9: Consultancy
It should therefore come as no surprise that only a small number of lecturers could state with a strong degree of confidence that their College’s
entrepreneurship education efforts adequately prepare their students to actually start their own businesses (figure 4), with the majority stating that their
College’s training prepares students only “to some extent”, a clear acknowledgement that more needs to be done to ensure that current training enables
actual business start-up.
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2.4 Funding
Outside of business studies, entrepreneurship education and development is not a mandated activity by the Department of Higher Education & Training
and is therefore not funded as a distinct focal activity. Thus, it is left at the discretion of Colleges to fund and implement activities in this area.
Nota at all
To some extent
Adequately
6%
44%
22%
0%
22%
6%
Figure 4: How adequately does training prepare students to start their own
businesses?
New Venture Creation Entrepreneurship
“Entrepreneurship education is not a ‘policied’ activity to ensure
that all students are exposed to it. So there is no funding; it’s left to
Colleges’ discretion to budget for it. if it’s not ‘policied’ it won’t
happen. I don’t quite understand why given the level of
unemployment (among College graduates)”
“Government funding is
critical. There is currently no
focused funding, especially for
practicals”
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Limited funding resources mean that Colleges do not have the wherewithal to acquire human and other resources to effectively drive entrepreneurship
development programmes. For instance, while many Colleges talk about intentions to set up entrepreneurial support infrastructure such as centres of
entrepreneurship or business incubators, these plans are thwarted by lack of financial resources. To resolve their funding challenges, many Colleges have
forged partnerships with various external institutions such as SETAs, Chambers of Commerce, small business development agencies, municipalities and
provincial departments responsible for economic development. These partnerships, however, do not provide sustainable long term funding and their
interventions tend to be mainly of a project rather than programme nature. So most activities associated with these partnerships lack continuity and
longevity. This has a negative impact on long term entrepreneurship development plans of Colleges.
2.5 Lack of recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes
Currently, for the practical component of the student’s practical training to be recognised as meeting the requirements for the award of a National N
Diploma, the training should take place in a workplace where the training experience is structured, meaning that strong supervision should be provided
to the student. Secondly, the experience should relate to the qualification the student is pursuing. Portfolio of evidence is required. Under these
requirements, the process of starting a business may not qualify the student for the award of a National N Diploma. This militates against both Colleges
encouraging students to start their own businesses and students being keen to explore business start-up before completing their studies. While this is
reported to be gradually changing, Colleges still focus on placing students mainly in large companies where large numbers of students can be placed with
a single company and where they can receive structured and adequately supervised experience, as opposed to placing them in small businesses. This
significantly reduces the number of placement opportunities available to students. Even more importantly, this denies students the opportunities to be
exposed to the realities of running an entrepreneurial business, which could play a critical role in giving them the know-how and motivation to start and
run their own businesses. Innovation in this area could make a significant difference in efforts to encourage Colleges to steer their students in the
direction of starting and running their own businesses.
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2.6 Lack of a dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College
In the absence of national policy mandating entrepreneurship development within Colleges, this activity is left to the initiative of Colleges and, in some
cases, particular individuals within those Colleges. Where such initiative is lacking, commitment to entrepreneurship development is nothing more than
rhetoric. The College’s entrepreneurship development efforts should be championed at the highest level of leadership within the institution. This would
give clear focus on and direction to these efforts and create the space necessary to effectively drive and coordinate the institution’s efforts. Thus, the
College Principal should the primary champion of the institution’s entrepreneurship development efforts, setting clear vision and strategy for the entire
institution. At the implementation level, views differ as to the best location and intuitional set-up to drive entrepreneurship development. A
predominant view favours the location of the College’s entrepreneurship activities under the Skills Manager. Other views favour location within the
academic stream or a dedicated centre for entrepreneurship or small business development.
2.7 Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators
Effective delivery of entrepreneurship education and development programmes is significantly impaired by the limited knowledge of and experience in
entrepreneurship on the part of most entrepreneurship educators. Firstly, as figure 5 shows, there is a significant number of lecturers who are currently
teaching entrepreneurship and / or New Venture Creation who have no academic qualification at all or who have very low qualifications. Even those
lecturers who have attained a Diploma or a Bachelor’s degree, who are in the majority, did not study entrepreneurship as part of their qualifications. So
lecturers are assigned to teach entrepreneurship or New Venture Creation on an as-needed basis without due consideration to their background in the
field.
“Skills Managers should champion entrepreneurship education. They deal with
learnerships and occupational programmes. Lecturers just see themselves as
academics. The rest of the stuff doesn’t belong to them”
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Secondly, more than a third of lecturers participating in the study reported that they had less than one year of experience in industry, meaning that they
had very little or no previous exposure to business (figure 6).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
None
Higher Cert. or
below
Diploma or B.
degree
Postgraduate
Certificate
Honours
degree
Teaching
Technical
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g
u
r
e
5
:
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e
c
t
u
r
e
r
q
u
a
l
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
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n
s
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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Moreover, whereas in the past (early ‘90s) there were organisations such as the Foundation for Entrepreneurship & Business Development (FEBDEV)
which specialised in training and motivating entrepreneurship educators, this type of support no longer exists. W&RSETA is reported to have previously
offered a one-week course on entrepreneurship aimed at New Venture Creation lecturers, but this was a once-off offering and is no longer available.
Thus, entrepreneurship educators are largely left to their own devices without any proper guidance inside the institution and equipping and motivation
from outside the institution. As a result many educators are reported to lack the requisite knowledge of the field, passion and motivation, which are
critical ingredients for successfully driving the institution’s entrepreneurship education and development programmes. Some respondents described the
situation thus:
38%
6%
28%
22%
6%
Figure 6: Industry experience among entrepreneurship /
New Venture Creation lecturers
0-12 months
1-2 years
3-4 years
5-10 years
More than 10 years
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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2.8 Pedagogical and assessment approach
The biggest criticism of current entrepreneurship education programmes within FET Colleges is that they are too academic and theoretical and lack the
practical element, which is an essential component of successful entrepreneurship education programmes. While there are innovations in this area in
some Colleges, with the use of business simulators and College-owned commercial ventures designed to give students opportunities to gain a certain
level of practical experience, many Colleges lack these facilities. The transmission method of teaching is predominant and case studies are hardly used.
There is virtually no involvement of practising entrepreneurs and businesspeople in the delivery of entrepreneurship education and development
programmes. There was no mention of use of computer-based business start-up and management simulations, although these are available on the
market and increasingly used in entrepreneurship education. Assessment in general is largely textbook-based and allows little room for students to
present their own ideas and solutions to problems. The business plans developed during NATED N4 are not assessed and no mark is allocated to them.
While workplace exposure was reported by one-third of lecturers as being one of the business learning opportunities available to students, the reality is
that many students struggle to obtain any placement opportunities at all and what placement opportunities become available are not specifically focused
on learning the practice of entrepreneurship. One student in a focus group observed:
“For the FET sector it will take some
doing before we have a critical mass of
lecturers who can produce students of
an entrepreneurial calibre”
“Entrepreneurship is done in NATED,
which has limited time, so lecturers
just push subjects. Entrepreneurship
requires more time. Lecturers say:
‘Where is the time?’”
“FEBDEV-type training is very
important. Now lecturers who have
no background in entrepreneurship
education are given responsibility to
teach (the subject) but may not have
passion and practical experience”
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 23
“All teaching was theory. I would add a practical component – maybe visit companies and
analyse them. Hospitality students do practicals every week on campus kitchens, EBM should
be the same”
4%
0%
17%
0%
4%
4%
13%
33%
25%
Business Plan Competition
Entrepreneurship Club
Guest speaker from private industry
Campus-based student start-ups
Case study competition
Business networking sessions
Entrepreneurship day / week
Workplace exposure / experience
None
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Figure 7: Business learning opportunities / pedagogy
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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2.9 Student interest in entrepreneurship
Students largely still prefer formal employment in larger companies which is viewed as safe and promises more lucrative career prospects compared to
pursuing one’s own business which is seen as a risk. This mindset, which also extends to a wider section of society, results in weak interest in
entrepreneurship education and programmes among most students. However, a sizeable number of students who have participated in entrepreneurship
and New Venture Creation studies had a positive view of entrepreneurship and self-employment. This shows that these programmes can and do have a
positive effect in changing the mindset of at least some students about entrepreneurship as a possible career option.
2.10 Other implementation constraints
Figure 8 below presents a summary of the various challenges experienced by FET Colleges in implementing entrepreneurship education programmes.
Weak partnerships, lecturer inexperience and training, curriculum and lack of funding have already been discussed earlier in the report. Two other key
constraints identified by lecturers is poor infrastructure, with reference to teaching resources and facilities and lack of internal and external support.
“When you chat to
students, they want
employment”
“Students here are
not thinking in terms
of entrepreneurship,
they’re looking for
jobs”
“When I came to the
College I thought I’ll go
and find a job. My
mindset has changed. I
can work for myself. I
don’t need to work for
somebody else”
“The mindset out there is
that you need to finish
your studies and work for
someone else. This course
changes your mindset. You
can start your own
business and create jobs”
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 25
Infrastructure can be divided into two elements: (i) Institutional and (ii) Physical facilities. On the institutional front, only a handful of Colleges reported
that they currently have or have previously had a Centre or Unit dedicated to entrepreneurship within the College. A few Colleges have business
simulators although in some instances these are not functioning as intended. It was also reported that some Colleges in Gauteng had in the past started
Incubation Centres but these had not worked well, largely due to an underdeveloped external and internal support environment. The external
environment related mainly to lack of funding and partnerships and the internal environment related to absence of enthusiastic champions. However,
there is currently a resurgence of dedicated Centres within Colleges, driven by the Department of Trade & Industry, Small Enterprise Development
Agency and the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Small Business Development.
7%
18%
14%
21%
14%
21%
4%
3%
16%
14%
19%
22%
24%
3%
Inadequate curriculum
Lack of support (internal & external)
Lecturer inexperience & training
Lack of funding
Lack of partnerships
Poor infrastructure (teaching resources &
facilities)
Lack of opportunities for practical experience
Figure 8: Limitations on effective delivery of training
New Venture Creation Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
Page 26
Some Colleges are independently thinking of starting up their own Centres. Therefore the next several years will see the re-emergence of a number of
Centres of Entrepreneurship / Small Business and Business Incubators at various Colleges. This will call for significant and ongoing investment in capacity
development.
As far as physical facilities are concerned, figure 9 below presents lecturer responses to a question relating to access by students to computer and
communication facilities within the College. Only 30% of respondents said there was access to computers by all students. Access to the Internet and
social media, respectively, is much more limited. Even where access to computers and Internet were reported, in some cases this access was limited to
use only for assignment preparation. So students cannot, for instance, use these facilities to research business opportunities or search for information on
available support for business start-up. In other words, these facilities are currently being used mostly for academic purposes only.
30%
9%
21%
7%
11%
11%
2%
5%
5%
Computers
Social media
Internet
Figure 9: Student access to electronic learning tools
Hardly any students Some students All students
Entrepreneurship Education in FET Colleges – Final Research Report
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2.11 Business start-up support and monitoring
Given the various challenges faced by Colleges in effectively implementing their entrepreneurship education programmes, as presented earlier, it comes
as no surprise that there would virtually be no support provided to students to start their own businesses. By far the largest number of respondents
reported that their Colleges offer no business start-up support at all to their students (figure 10). Interviewee and lecturer responses also showed that
virtually all Colleges do not track their students after they complete their theoretical studies and so none could tell how many of their students had either
started their own businesses or were attempting to do so. Thus, monitoring of student progress in the field of business start-up is virtually non-existent.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Business Plan Development
Coachig and mentoring
Access to start-up finance
Access to markets
Additional training
Business incubation
Access to tax advice
Access to technology
Access to raw materials
Networking opportunities / referral
Access to legal advice
None
Figure 10: Postgraduate business start-up support
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3. Local and international links
While there is a past example of KwaZulu-Natal based FET Colleges working collaboratively in developing material and delivering a small business
development programme under the auspices of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development & Tourism, this was an isolated case. In
general, FET Colleges have no mechanisms for collaboration in the field of entrepreneurship development. Similarly, only one College interviewed
reported collaboration in the field of entrepreneurship development with an overseas-based College. Greater level of institutional linkages and
collaboration among Colleges and between local Colleges and their overseas counterparts can significantly enhance collective experience sharing and
learning among Colleges.
4. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships
Partnership with various role players in entrepreneurship and small business development is recognised as among the critical success factors in College
entrepreneurship education and development programmes. Several Colleges have taken the initiative to establish once-off or ongoing partnerships with
various entities such as local chambers of commerce, Sector Education & Training Authorities, small business development agencies and incubators,
provincial government departments and municipalities, international development agencies, and large companies.
“We need a national forum and a
central office to coordinate for all
Colleges. Now we compete and
have to employ more people but
we don’t have money”
“There is no national
forum. You’re sort of
working in your own
environment”
“We have no global links
around entrepreneurship
education. We would be
keen to look and learn
internationally”
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These partnerships provide important networking, collaboration and resource acquisition opportunities for participating Colleges. In particular, these
partnerships can provide support that is critical in enabling College students and graduates to establish and run their own businesses. This support can
take the form of incubation and other business development services such as mentorship (e.g. Seda), access to finance for business start-up (e.g. Sefa),
business skills development (e.g. SETAs), business networking (e.g. Chambers of Commerce) and access to markets (e.g. government departments,
municipalities and large companies). However, by far the largest group of respondents (29%) reported that their Colleges have not established any
external partnerships with various role players in entrepreneurship and small business development actors. This is despite the fact that lack of
partnerships has been identified as one of the critical success barriers (figure 8) and the recognition that partnerships are essential to success in this field
of endeavour.
National & provincial
government, 14%
International
organisations, 5%
Funding agencies, 10%
SMME support
agencies, 0%
SETAs, 24%
Business /
industry,
14%
Municipalities, 5%
None, 29%
Figure 11: External partnerships
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VI. COMPARING THE SOUTH AFRICA SITUATION WITH INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE
A comparison of current South African practices with international practices reveals that, overall, South Africa exhibits most of the characteristics of what
the European Commission’s Expert Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education and Training would characterise as “weak programmes”, whose
features are:
? Entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system
? Student participation is limited
? Teaching methods are ineffective
? The practical element of entrepreneurship is missing
? Teachers are not fully competent, mainly lacking practical experience in entrepreneurship
? Entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects or professions
? Business people are not sufficiently involved
The degree of intensity of the “weakness” obviously varies across these areas but generally the current situation can generally be characterised as being
more on the weaker side.
“You won’t succeed in doing this if
you don’t have partners – especially
to provide access to markets.
Otherwise you train for what?”
“There has to be partnerships because we
don’t have the requisite income. The only
way we as FET Colleges will be able to do
this is through partnerships”
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This current status points to the significant amount of work that needs to be done to get entrepreneurship education and development going in earnest
within the country’s FET Colleges. In the last section of the report recommendations are presented on what needs to be done in order to turn this
situation around.
VII. CONCLUSION
This report presents the findings of a national study on entrepreneurship education in South Africa’s Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges
commissioned by the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) on behalf of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC). After presenting
the objectives and methodology of the study, the report presents the main findings from the review of international literature and data gathered in
South Africa through various methods as described in the methodology. The overall finding of the study is that current South African practice in
entrepreneurship education and development within the FET sector exhibits most of the characteristics of what the European Commission’s Expert
Group on Entrepreneurship in Vocational Education and Training would characterise as “weak programmes”. Several recommendations are offered to
respond to this situation and to drive entrepreneurship education in FET Colleges in earnest.
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Messaging and communication on the importance of entrepreneurship
Recommendation 1: Future efforts to drive the integration of entrepreneurship education into FET Colleges should communicate a more positive
message about the need for and role of entrepreneurship education. The message should emphasise the production of productive citizens who possess
the requisite life skills and attributes to contribute meaningfully to economic development and wealth creation whether as employees or entrepreneurs.
Messaging should also highlight the critical role played by entrepreneurs in an economy as producers and providers of goods and services, wealth
creators, job creators and generally as drivers of economic progress.
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2. National government policy and leadership
Recommendation 2: The Department of Higher Education & Training needs to develop a clear national policy on entrepreneurship education and
development within FET Colleges. Such policy should clearly spell out the roles, individually and collaboratively, of various departments that have a role
in entrepreneurship education development, such as DHET, the dti and Economic Development Department. Strong ministerial leadership, similar to that
provided by the Minister of Higher Education & Training in the area of artisan development, is needed to spur efforts in the field of entrepreneurship
education and development.
3. Curriculum
Recommendation 3: The curriculum urgently needs to be reviewed to be relevant to current economic realities. The curriculum should be extended to all
College students regardless of course of study. In the case of engineering studies, consideration should be given to extending the studies by a further
trimester focused on entrepreneurship education.
4. Structure of the course and teaching material
Recommendation 4: The business plan should be seen as the practical output of entrepreneurship learning and required only at the end of the
coursework, that is, at N6 level. The business plan should demonstrate practical knowledge acquired during the course and be practical enough to guide
the establishment of a real business. The course material should be revised to place less emphasis on high-level knowledge of business theory but
instead focus on giving students practical guidance on how to start a business. Alternatively, students could be introduced to entrepreneurship during N4
and N5 and required to undertake a practical project, which should preferably involve starting and running a real small-scale business, during N6. This
would mean the discontinuation of the expanding a business component of the teaching material and replacement thereof with a practical, hands-on
business start-up programme such as the well-established Dynamic Business Start-up Programme or ILO’s SYB (Start Your Business). The structure of the
course and content of the material would thus be as follows:
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5. Funding
Recommendation 5: Entrepreneurship education and development should be mandated by government policy across all fields of learning and core
funding provided by the government to enable the sustainable implementation of programmes. Colleges could still be required to source additional
funding from external sources but this should be to augment core funding provided by the government.
6. Recognition of business creation and small business experience for Diploma award purposes
Recommendation 6: The experience gained in the process of starting up and running a business, especially one in the field of the student’s study, should
be recognised by Umalusi as meeting the requirements for the award of a National N Diploma. Colleges should make deliberate efforts to place students
in small businesses.
N4
Starting a business
(Curricular)
N5
Managing a business
(Curricular)
N6
Practical business creation training, business plan
development and small scale business start-up
(Curricular or extra-curricular)
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7. Dedicated entrepreneurship champion within a College
Recommendation 7: Entrepreneurship development within a College should be driven by the Principal and clearly spelt out as a priority focus in the
institution’s strategic plan. An implementation champion should be clearly identified and appropriately resourced to drive the institution’s efforts in this
field. To ensure institution-wide buy in and focus on entrepreneurship development, it might be useful to place this institutional champion in an office
with cross-cutting responsibilities rather than one based within a particular academic department.
8. Entrepreneurship knowledge and motivation among educators
Recommendation 8: Give consideration to establishing an adequately-resourced National Coordinating Office (NCO) for entrepreneurship education and
development either inside or outside the department. The most probable locations outside the department would, in order of preference, be the
Association of Colleges of South Africa (ACoSA), which would keep the NCO closer to the Colleges, or Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (SEDA), which is
tasked with small business development nationally. The proposed NCO would be tasked with the responsibility for developing, implementing
programmes for entrepreneurship education and educator development. The NCO would fulfil the role of national coordinator for entrepreneurship
education and development programmes across all Colleges, work closely with various external stakeholders, forge international links and ensure
effective monitoring and evaluation of College-based programmes. Core funding for the NCO could be sourced from contributions by SETAs or the
National Skills Fund (NSF). Additional funding could be raised through corporate and international sponsorships.
9. Pedagogical and assessment approach
Recommendation 9: Pedagogical approaches need to be reviewed to incorporate a strong practical component and use of a variety of teaching and
assessment methods such as case studies, computer-based simulations, invitation to entrepreneurs and businesspeople to address students, and
participation in business plan competitions.
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10. Student interest in entrepreneurship
Recommendation 10: An important element of driving entrepreneurship education within FET Colleges should be the elevation of the role and
importance of entrepreneurship within society at large. A visible public campaign to profile entrepreneurship as a worthy pursuit should be designed and
executed alongside efforts to drive entrepreneurship within FET Colleges.
11. Local and international institutional linkages
Recommendation 11: Establish a national forum for those involved in entrepreneurship education and development within FET Colleges. Encourage and
support local Colleges to establish links (via the proposed National Coordinating Office – recommendation 8) with their counterparts in other parts of the
world that are known to have effective entrepreneurship education and development programmes.
12. Forging multi-stakeholder partnerships
Recommendation 12: Encourage Colleges to establish a platform for regular interaction between themselves and various stakeholders and prospective
partners at local and provincial level and measure the performance of Colleges in maintaining and developing these relationships. National and
international stakeholder relationships would be co-ordinated centrally via the proposed National Coordinating Office.
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