CEDEFOP CAREER GUIDANCE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 2011

The European Commission and the EU Member States have been working together since the 1990s to develop an entrepreneurial education and training agenda in Europe. It is widely acknowledged that new companies and entrepreneurs are important for innovation, job creation and economic development in Europe. However, traditional education and training systems in Europe have not been supportive of entrepreneurship and self-employment. As attitudes take shape at an early age, education systems should contribute more to the development of entrepreneurial skills and mindsets.

This Cedefop study (2011) aims at better understanding how career guidance can support entrepreneurship learning and contribute to the development of career management skills for entrepreneurs.

The aims of the study are:

•  to illustrate and assess the role of career guidance in supporting entrepreneurship learning in initial vocational education and training (IVET) and in higher education (HE);
• to examine what kind of career guidance is available for enterprise start ups for IVET and HE students;
•  to analyse what kind of career guidance is available to develop the career management skills of aspiring and novice entrepreneurs.
• The report indicates that, across Europe, education and training programmes in entrepreneurship have a positive impact on developing individuals’ entrepreneurial qualities, raising awareness of self-employment as a career option, and creating a positive attitude towards entrepreneurial activity. There are also successful guidance initiatives in the Member States that support the career management of entrepreneurs during business start-up.