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The triple promise of entrepreneurship education

Caroline Jenner, CEO JA Europe

What can develop work skills, lead to job creation, and have a deep societal impact, in one effective package?
Knowing JA Europe and its mission, it will come to you as no surprise that entrepreneurship education is a powerful tool that can deliver at multiple levels, across a variety of areas.

As employers routinely highlight a significant skills gap, from social skills to digital skills, and youth unemployment continues to skyrocket in many European countries, we want to highlight the triple promise of entrepreneurship education.

 

For the last 100 years, JA has delivered entrepreneurship education programmes to young people, across the world. More than 10 million students in 100 countries to be more precise.
More recently, in 2013, JA Europe together with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) and CSR Europe, and with the support of the European Commission, developed the Entrepreneurship Skills Pass, ESP in short. Our attention was drawn to the fact that, as young people enter the job market they not only need to possess excellent qualifications but also the ability to apply their skills in the workplace, to be adaptive and to act in an entrepreneurial way. The ESP is a micro-credential scheme, which students can add to their CV and use to pursue further education, to enter the world of work or to start their own business. It demonstrates that they have acquired the skills and competences employers are looking for.

Research shows that our entrepreneurship education programmes deliver on three major promises:

Work skills
  • 90% of   young   people   reported   progression   in   at   least   one   entrepreneurial   competence   in   the   ESP   assessment, namely creativity, self-confidence and resourcefulness.
Job creation
  • 60% of students prefer self-employment as a career option, resulting from participation in the JA Company Programmes. 
Societal impact
  • JA alumni students are finding jobs within 4 months after graduation, while those who have not had the same opportunity need 11 months or more to find a job.

More details on the results JA programmes deliver are available in this brochure about the JA Company Programme and ESP

 

Come and discover the JA Company Programme and more about the ESP micro-credential next July

The ESP is an integral part of what we do. We have big plans for it. First, it is going global! Our ambition is that, by 2022, 60 countries worldwide will take on the ESP and give the opportunity to their students to complete their entrepreneurship education experience with a qualifying micro-credential that will support them in their future work life.

Closer to us, the ESP will be showcased at the upcoming Company of the Year Competition in Lille next July. It will be an opportunity to show how our programmes accompany students throughout the entrepreneurship education journey. With the support of our partners from the Alliance For YOUth, an initiative led by Nestlé and supported by a number of companies, students will be offered mentoring and coaching support.

Discover the full programme of this year’s Company of the Year Competition/European Entrepreneurship Education Summit and join us in Lille to see firsthand  what entrepreneurship education can deliver for Europe.

Category : Entrepreneurship Education, Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) Posted : 19 June 2019 12:56 UTC
About the Author
Caroline Jenner, CEO JA Europe

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