Young people feel they need better training in entrepreneurship

Citation

(2006), "Young people feel they need better training in entrepreneurship", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 2/3. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2006.00448bab.008

Young people feel they need better training in entrepreneurship

Some 78 per cent of young people see business as “cool”, but policymakers at all levels in Europe must improve conditions to encourage people to set up their own businesses – from greater training to more favourable tax incentives. These are among the findings of a survey of more than 10,000 young people in 25 European countries by Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise (JA-YE) Europe, a network of organisations dedicated to entrepreneurship education. The survey shows that:

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  89 per cent of young people would like to become entrepreneurs to develop personally, while 83 per cent believe it would make them more independent;

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  63 per cent of young people believe that they will, one day, be their own boss;

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  62 per cent are of the opinion that being an entrepreneur does not require an innate gift;

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  62 per cent believe it is difficult to start one’s own business but 49 per cent think they have the capacity to succeed as an entrepreneur;

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  68 per cent are aware of the risks involved in case of failure;

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  78 per cent of young people think that sustainable economic and social development comes through education and training; and

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  while most young people think that their schools are aware of the need to offer management courses, few feel that their institution offers these types of programmes effectively.

“Entrepreneurship education does affect the number of young people who choose to set up their own business later on,” said Gert-Jan Koopman, of the European Commission. “We are putting growth and employment at the top of the agenda. Jobs are crucial. An ageing population will cut growth by 50 per cent.”

JA-YE collaborates with schools, teachers and business people to implement “learning-by-doing” programmes that help young people to understand the working world. The aim is to engender more creativity, ensure young people understand the relevance of what they learn, and keep them motivated and excited about the future and their role in it. In 2005, JA-YE programmes involved 41 countries, 1.7 million students, 65,000 teachers, 60,000 business volunteers and 34,000 schools.