Fostering Entrepreneur Skills in Higher Education: The

Case of Florida University (Spain)

The Bologna Declaration of 19th of June 1999 highlighted that a Europe of Knowledge should
be capable of giving its citizens the necessary competences to face the challenges of the new
millennium, for which higher education and research systems have “to continuously adapt to
changing needs, society's demands and advances in scientific knowledge”.

According to the Communication from the Commission of 12.11.1997, “developing employability

through the acquisition of competencies, made necessary through changes in work and its
organization, means it is necessary to promote on a lifelong basis creativity, flexibility,
adaptability, the ability to learn and to solve problems”.

These competences and skills coincide with those the Green paper “Entrepreneurship in
Europe” (Brussels, 21.1.2003 COM (2003) 27 final) ascribed to the definition of entrepreneur
spirit, “an attitude and the process of creating an economic activity by combining the
assumption of risk, creativity and innovation with solid management, either in an existing
organisation or a new one”.

Being entrepreneur would not only involve business creation but it also “covers an individual’s
motivation and capacity, independently or within an organisation, to identify an opportunity and
to pursue it in order to produce new value or economic success”. The entrepreneur spirit
contributes to the creation of employment and growth and to the satisfaction of the interests of
society in general.

Could we say, then, that there is a requirement for education institutions to train people to be
entrepreneur?

According to The European Agenda for Entrepreneurship, (Brussels, 11.02.2004 COM (2004)
70 final) “To ensure that all pupils leaving the education system have had access to
entrepreneurship courses, the Commission calls upon the Member States to integrate
entrepreneurship education into all schools’ curricula and provide schools with proper support
(…) and, together with business organisations, involve entrepreneurs in teaching programmes.”

Changes that have taken place in the European environment in recent times have created new
socio-economic conditions in which generation of employment and wealth is not only
responsibility of large companies. These changes have created opportunities for new business
initiatives.

Education centres play a key role in this task, and it is necessary to introduce innovative
elements at the curricular and pedagogical levels and at the organisational level, to intensify the
relationship with the business, social and economic environment in which these education
centres carry out their activity.

However, the mismatch between qualifications and requirements of the market and the distance
between, on the one hand, teaching institutions and, on the other, employment, economic
development and social institutions has been and continues to be an obstacle to foster business
culture and work on the necessary competences. This makes it necessary to promote closer
links between the production and training systems.

Current education centres, which developed in the framework of an obsolescent industrial

society, often lack the necessary resources to prepare young people for the current knowledge
society.

Member States are encouraged to consider, amongst others, the following measures (Brussels,
07.04.1998 COM (98) 222 final):

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• include knowledge about entrepreneurship in the curricula of national education and
training systems;
• target specific groups such as women, the long-term unemployed and disadvantaged
groups to make them aware of the potential of entrepreneurship;
• make the institutional framework and external partners of small businesses more
entrepreneurial and aware of the special needs of business start-ups through initial and
continuing training;
• encourage self employment as an option in career development and for the training of the
unemployed;
• improve access to education and training for entrepreneurs and delivery of training at the
local level and develop flexible training packages;
• promote coaching and mentoring for infant firms by retired entrepreneurs or experienced
professionals and networks of young entrepreneurs;
• involve the media in order to give entrepreneurship a more prominent and positive role in
society;

University education must be designed taking into account these new challenges and conceive
training as a lifelong process that will allow people adapt to new social, economic and training
needs. In this context it is essential, on the one hand, to support the evolution of the role of
trainers from that of knowledge transmitter to that of facilitator in the learning process and, on
the other hand, to promote change in university culture, characterised by an academic focus,
disconnected from the labour market.

Florida University (Spain) co-ordinated a Leonardo da Vinci Project within the framework of
which the “Entrepreneurship in Education” method was created and tested in 2001. Since then it
has been in operation in the centre, with the objective of fostering entrepreneur skills in higher
education and vocational training. This method has also been subject of a valorisation process
within the framework of a Valorisation Pilot Action of the European Commission (2003).

The proposed methodology envisages the development of two different resources: The
Entrepreneur Skills Pathway and The Entrepreneurs Resource Centre, whose description is the
object of the present article.

1. STARTING POINT

According to the Eurobarometer Surveys, Europeans prefer to be employees rather than self-
employed. Although percentage of people who would prefer to be self-employed is higher in
Southern Europe, Ireland and United Kingdom, the average rate is 45%, lower than in the
United States, 67% (Green Paper “Entrepreneurship in Europe”). Although many citizens would
like to create a company, frequently they lack the confidence in themselves and the necessary
capacities to turn this into reality. It is necessary to put young people in touch with the enterprise
spirit and provide them, and their trainers, support to develop business competences.

When we examine the necessary qualities for starting up a company, such as initiative,
creativity and constancy, we find a series of personal competences that should be taught from
very early ages. Management capacities and skills, in contrast, can be developed at more
advanced stages, such as university or vocational training, and should not be only focused on
business management students (for example, combination of business and technical potential
with students in technical subjects, linking scientific knowledge to the commercialisation of
results).

There is a need for substantial improvements in actions focused on the promotion of

entrepreneurship from within the education system. Amongst them:
• Many interesting initiatives have been identified in this context of favouring
entrepreneurship in education, but they are isolated initiatives, not integrated into the of
education systems.

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• Development of indicators and data collection in this field is still very limited, as well as
evaluation of measures.
• This type of training is more frequent in secondary schools, often depending on individual
initiatives.
• Vocational training and university studies in most countries are not sufficiently oriented
towards self-employment and entrepreneurship.
• Entrepreneur training at university level is mainly aimed at students of business studies and
economics.
• Specific training for entrepreneurship trainers is insufficient. This is the main obstacle to the
introduction of entrepreneurship education in classes.
• Lack of private finance for entrepreneurship education programmes in Europe.
• Further promotion of existing programmes based on “learning by doing”.
• Political commitments should be converted into concrete actions, such as changing
education plans where systems are centralised and/or providing assistance and incentives
where centres are freer to establish their own programmes.
• Awareness of self-employment and business creation.
• Guidance for potential entrepreneurs
• Tutorial support and accompanying measures for promoters in the process of viability
analysis and the development of business plans.
• Consultancy and guidance for newly set up business activities.
• Access to preferential sources of finance for the launch of the activity
• Infrastructure for initial accommodation for newly set up business activities.
• Monitoring and tutorial support in the development and consolidation of new business
activities.
• Recognition and implementation of qualifications in the field of entrepreneurship.

The officially recognised vocational training environment (from lower vocational training to
university studies) offers the widest field of action, from awareness programmes and the
development of enterprise spirit at all levels, to programmes that are much more focused on the
development and support for entrepreneur initiatives by students with the support of training
centres, usually vocational training institutions and universities.

However, the globalisation process in information society is forcing an evolution in business

competitiveness, requiring managers to react quickly and efficiently to signals in society and
market. As a consequence of this, business organisations need to adopt new ways of
organising work, with a tendency to greater adaptability and increasing worker participation in
the dynamics of the company.

The role of higher education and continuous training in a competence-based market acquires
special importance when we consider the need for the permanent updating of the employee's
knowledge with regards to entrepreneurship. It is an important measure to guarantee and
support dynamism of SMEs - the main economic engine and source of employment in the EU -
which find it much harder and costly to integrate into a global economy, incorporate new
technologies and gain access to new management techniques.

Lifelong learning is a key element for survival in the case of entrepreneurs, since it helps them
to resolve competitiveness problems, to respond to quality management requirements and to
expectations of professional improvement and promotion.

To sum up, there is a need to:

• Promote the adaptation of training curricula and pedagogical methods, in order to meet the
needs of entrepreneurs and employees in coordination with the local and regional actors.
• Explore guidance and counselling methods for students, encouraging young people to look
for self-employment opportunities in their local and/or regional environment.

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• Improve entrepreneurial knowledge and innovative skills in vocational training, higher
education and education bodies.

2. THE “ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN EDUCATION” TRAINING METHOD

2.1. The Actors

In order to generate in students an active attitude with respect to the business world (as well as
creativity and autonomy that would improve their employability and professional efficiency),
higher education systems need to introduce experiences that break with their inflexibility and to
promote closer links between the production and training systems.

It is necessary that education covers the process of change that is taking place in the world of
work. Therefore, collaboration between the main economic actors is vital: authorities and local
administration, business organisations, universities, trainers and so on.

Given the current distance between the world of work and the universities that we mentioned
before, a new approach that makes the transition to professional life less difficult is required. A
meeting point for educators, students, business owners and local / regional development agents
has to be provided.

From this point of view, it is clear that the roles of trainers and companies have to change. The
border between creators of employment and wealth and trainers of people is becoming fuzzy; it
is hard to define where the responsibilities of each begin and end, and the roles to adopt. There
is a need to conceive training as the result of the joint action of all those actors that may affect
economic, social and overall development in their environment.

A strategy of this type will facilitate the creation of a perspective in which a large number of
interests come together. Its main success factor will be the diversity of the actors involved, with
their variety of realities, working together towards a common objective.

Here is a list of those actors that would necessarily be creating synergies and co-operating in
the promotion of entrepreneurship at local and/or regional level. Their involvement and
participation will not be the same at all stages of the process; it will depend on the moment and
the type of action to be developed.

a) Local and Regional Public Administrations

These play a critical role in the development of the entrepreneur spirit because of their capacity
to influence the actions of those they administrate through their policies and programmes.
Local administrations can contribute favourably with support and information resources as well
as to the availability of appropriate infrastructure for the initial accommodation of new
companies. They know very well the potentialities of the concrete area.

b) Companies in the local / regional environment

They include a wide range of organisations from different backgrounds whose contribution to
the success of our strategy is vital.
Each organisation from within its field can contribute actively to the development of the actions
that may be planned, or simply be receptive, as far as possible, to requests made by the
education centres and universities as well as their trainers and students, from a global
perspective of contributing to the improvement of the socio-economic conditions in the local /
regional environment.

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c) Business intermediate representation structures
These organisations are located at intermediate level and contribute in two ways: by supporting
and fostering the process and increasing awareness among their associates, and also by
facilitating access to different information channels at local, regional, national or European level.
Their well-developed network of relationships, the fact that they represent a wide range of
organisations, and a strong influence on institutions at different levels will give rise to a high
success potential in this process.

d) Organisations specialised in Business Promotion

These organisations play an interesting role in the promotion of the entrepreneur spirit in
educational contexts.
Apart from developing an active intermediary role between economic, social and educational
structures, their specialisation allows them to offer quality support and assistance services to
education centres and universities interested in fostering entrepreneurship, making it possible to
implement new initiatives and practices in a context where there may be important barriers due
to lack of previous experience in business promotion
Among these actors we can include BICs (Business Innovation Centres) as well as local and
regional development agencies.

e) Universities (and education centres) management teams

They play a primary role since normally the decision to get involved in a process to foster the
entrepreneur spirit in education is theirs.
The starting point must be a real belief in the benefits for the educational practice of the whole
centre; otherwise the experience is very likely to be unsuccessful.
Full involvement of the management team of the centre with the entrepreneur culture should be
expressed in concrete measures.
At this point we can define the ideal characteristics that training centres or universities
interested in fostering the entrepreneur spirit should meet:

Proven interest in pedagogical renewal and innovation.

A dynamic management team that is capable of promoting new projects.

Links to their environment, relationships with the business context or at least the potential
capacity to develop future mutual cooperation relationships.

Capacity to implement or carry out an innovative experience.

To be open to cooperation and exchange of ideas, and willing to collaborate in the
improvement of a didactic methodology.

An entrepreneurial attitude among the teaching staff.

f) Counsellors and Teachers

Although the students are the protagonists of the entrepreneur processes we are dealing with,
the counsellors and teachers at the education centres and universities are the key to the
initiation of the actions designed jointly with the management team and their consolidation in
educational practice.
The role of this group is crucial since their interest and initial motivation is key to the
consolidation of innovative practices in the centre.

g) Students at the education centre

These are the central axis of all the actions that take place. Their apparent initial apathy towards
this kind of entrepreneur initiatives should be counteracted with a positive message, that
mentions personal development options, and solidarity-based behaviour patterns that contribute
to improvements in the quality of life in their immediate environment.
The initiation of business activities among students, although simply at the level of educational
practice, can produce highly responsible behaviour among the participating students.

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A proposal of these characteristics, with a variety of actors, requires a clearly defined
organisational structure that will guarantee an appropriate flow of information and be sufficiently
flexible to permit the involvement of different people at different stages.

Our experience in setting up of this type of consortium leads us to emphasise the importance of
defining beforehand the nature of each partner’s participation, and the functions they are to be
assigned, in order for the process to run smoothly later.

2.2. Identification of business and professional needs

Before formulating the specific objectives of a proposal of these characteristics, it is important to

identify the professional and business needs of the environment.

To identify these needs, and before the work methods are designed, it is advisable to undertake
an analysis of the business and professional needs, and identify the weak and strong points of
the training, in order to focus the field of intervention adequately, as well as to ensure the
involvement of the external actors from the start.

Before the design of the "Entrepreneurship in Education” method (1999) took place, a series of
interviews and surveys were carried out in each of the partner countries (France, Ireland,
Netherlands and UK).

The subjects were business managers of representative companies in the area. The objective
was to discover whether they were satisfied with the people they were employing both in terms
of their technical and personal training and skills. While we see the European context as the
global framework, our view was that we could not forget the peculiarities of each particular area.

In general the conclusion was that companies have difficulties finding people that meet their
needs, since, in spite of the fact that there is no shortage of workers, it is difficult to find
someone who has the skills and qualities that are normally required. A series of characteristics
that young people who have finished their training should have when they join a company were
mentioned. These are listed here, as expressed by the managers interviewed.
• AWARENESS of processes, resources, opportunities…
• FLEXIBILITY - adapting to changes: new products, new work patterns and methods, target
groups and markets…
• CREATIVITY- generation of new ideas, problem solving…
• INITIATIVE - ability to propose new initiatives and solutions
• AUTONOMY - ability to make decisions and to set up new entrepreneurial activities
• SOCIAL SKILLS - ability to work as part of a team, assertive behaviour...
• COMMUNICATION SKILLS - speaking in public…

Depending on the resources that each promoting centre has at its disposal this analysis can be
more or less extensive. Whatever the situation, it is vital to take this analysis as the starting
point, so that the objectives of our proposal and the area of intervention are appropriately
focused.

These skills are required by companies insofar as they expect their workers to show more active
and participative attitudes. Furthermore, in our environment we have observed that
developments in labour relations demand that workers be capable of retraining and changing
their profile within the job market at a minimum social and personal cost, which implies not only
the possibility of changing jobs at a given moment, but also the capacity to manage change in
their current post or company.

In this context the idea of the “entrepreneur” needs to be explored from various perspectives, in
order to examine these key skills, and achieve appropriate personal and professional
development in the current labour environment. It has become necessary to define the concept
of entrepreneurial activity at school.

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Although definitions of the entrepreneur are available in countless manuals, and in general, the
entrepreneur can be understood as someone capable of starting up their own business, it
should not be forgotten that, in the modern labour market, more and more companies are
looking for candidates with certain vital entrepreneurial characteristics.

The experience gained permits us to confirm that stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit in
education is worthwhile because it implies the development of basic skills applicable in both
self-employment and employee contexts. It promotes the development of new business
initiatives and ideas, and will also contribute to change and innovation in existing companies.

2.3. The Method

To achieve this, the "Entrepreneurship in Education" method aimed to develop, within the field
of higher education and vocational training, experimental new content, activities and
methodologies that would generate an active attitude with respect to the labour market in
students, as well as new dynamics of participation, creativity and autonomy which would
improve their employability, their professional efficiency, and their capacity to develop new
business initiatives.

It aimed especially at the acquisition of key competences, such as the capacity to adapt to
change, self-learning, teamwork, autonomy, and at the development of key experiences aimed
at capacitating future workers for work in different posts during the length of their working life.

This pilot project served to develop, and pilot a methodology for promoting the stimulation of
business initiatives through joint action by training centres, business, local administrations and
development agents.

This methodology envisages the development of two different resources:

• The Entrepreneur Skills Pathway

• The Entrepreneurs Resource Centre

2.3.1. The Entrepreneur Skills Pathway

2.3.1.1. Description

Based on active knowledge of the business environment, it includes training for the creation and
development of business projects. The whole constitutes an excellent meeting point for
students, teachers, local companies and local development agents.

The package brings together, in a common nodule, different actions aimed at developing the
entrepreneur spirit in vocational training and university students. Different possibilities in
different spaces are proposed. The coherence of these comes from the fact that they are
integrated within a particular time-scale and have the same objective. The whole is called the
"Entrepreneur Skills Pathway".

This kind of module should be integrated into at least some of the subjects as part of the
curriculum, without this presupposing drastic change in the teachers working methods, and it
should always be borne in mind that it will be necessary to include the practical part of each
subject. The idea is to find a point of intersection between the needs of companies and the
programmes established in study plans.

For example, in a marketing subject, in the practical part the teacher may set up a theoretical
exercise, or carry out a small marketing study for a local company that, as far as possible, is
useful for the company.

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This implies a change in the way practical work is organised, though it does not affect the
theoretical approach, it has the added value of centring efforts on activities that can be applied
to local realities.

The centre should consider the possibility that a particular project might be carried out in
different subjects, with a different part in each one. Close collaboration between teachers is
therefore vital to ensure a coherent result. As an example, in the case of an Internet marketing
study, the participation of computing and marketing teaching staff is necessary, and these
should be co-ordinated to achieve an optimum effect. This implies teamwork on the part of the
teachers involved, establishing the timing of the work process in each subject, and co-ordinating
it with the required theoretical training. This working method is fostering a new way of learning
between the students, more active and real, it is creating a new atmosphere at the training
centre.

The participation of local partners has to be requested for proposals, ideas, and placements as
well as for suggestions for research and business projects. Their collaboration as a source of
information to participating students will also be requested. It contributes to improve the
motivation of the students, they will be working and learning with real needs and situations.

2.3.1.2. The involvement of trainers

The development of entrepreneur skills is the object, all over Europe, of multiple initiatives
within continuous training and in training that complements official programmes. Education
systems are making efforts to adapt to the evolution of professional profiles. However in daily
practice in vocational training there are substantial obstacles to the integration of new training
methodologies that are more participative and adapted to these new skills and aptitudes.

Our local and transnational experience has shown us that, leaving aside the particularities of
each context, vocational training systems need to introduce experiences that break with the
inflexibility that hinders adaptation to the demands of the socio-economic context.

The introduction of activities that generate research, that promote the capacity for observation,
a critical attitude, or the development of new ideas may take place in any subject area. The
teachers that take part in the process will look for different opportunities to reinforce
entrepreneur skills, in those subjects whose content makes them appropriate for this purpose.

The factors that should be taken into account when involving teachers in a process such as this
are:
• Personal characteristics
• Teaching and working conditions and
• Opportunities in the socio-economic environment

First, it is important that the participating trainers have a certain curiosity with respect to
entrepreneur skills and a pro-active attitude to the organisation of extracurricular activity.
Furthermore, the fact that they have to collaborate with trainers of other subjects presupposes a
belief in the centre's curricular model, a holistic view of training, and a shared vision with respect
to the ultimate ends of education.

Second, the work environment should facilitate a different approach to the teaching of the
subject, for example, visits outside the centre, work outside school and so on.

Third, the trainers should know the business, cultural and social environment which the students
will enter when they start their careers. In this sense, access to this knowledge and an
understanding of this reality should be facilitated.

For this reason a project of these characteristics may represent a methodological challenge
which contributes to the overcoming of these difficulties, through the search for common
elements in different subjects that contribute to the development of an entrepreneur profile. The

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aim is, with the participation of the whole teaching staff, and each working in a specific way, to
be capable of stimulating certain values, competences and knowledge which make up what we
call an entrepreneurial attitude. The central driving force for trainer participation, then, would be
the search, through an interdisciplinary approach, for a new definition of the entrepreneur.

Methodological innovation, joint action, the use of the official teaching environment and support
resources (the Entrepreneurs Resource Centre and collaboration with the local / regional
environment) are elements with a potential for motivation that can generate teaching activity
that is not based merely on isolated efforts and voluntary participation by a few trainers.

2.3.1.3. The involvement of students

The day-to-day work of motivating the students will be key to their involvement.

It is important to facilitate access to pertinent information and resources for any student who
shows interest in carrying out entrepreneurial activity.

Therefore an appropriate atmosphere in the centre should be created, independently of its size.
The design of a logotype for the entrepreneurial activities is very helpful. It must be easily
identifiable and serve as an identifier that that appears in all the actions and instruments
involved in the development of the Entrepreneur Skills Pathway.

A logotype design competition can be set up for the centre's students. This action can be used
as a motivator and as a first call to participate in the process.

Possible channels that can help to guarantee student awareness, information and involvement
are:
• The teaching staff. The teaching staff has to provide information within the classroom and
motivate students to participate in the proposed activities. For this purpose it is essential
that all the teaching staff, and more particularly those that belong to the areas in which the
methodology is to be applied, have ample information (including even those teachers whose
subjects are not going to be used as a framework for the activity of the project).
• The Entrepreneurs Resource Centre. The staff of this centre will ensure that the information
is available for students at all times.
• Other student services that exist within the centre can redirect students who may be
interested in the proposed activities to the Entrepreneurs Resource Centre.

The capacity to generate a project atmosphere in the centre, and the information and
communication actions mentioned above, are considered especially valid for increasing the
motivation of the students.

2.3.1.3. The Actions

This proposal includes the development of different actions. These are just an example and
other type of similar activities could be carried out by any higher education institution interested
in fostering entrepreneur skills among their students.

a) Entrepreneur placements:
Placements with a specific Training Plan (tasks to be developed by the student) based on the
promotion of entrepreneur skills.
A proposal for a model Training Plan is drawn up, including various possibilities:
• Placements in Business Development Centres or BICs
• Local Development Agencies

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• Other organisations where the students can be aware of the process of business creation
(requirements, difficulties...)
• Students acting as mentors for other entrepreneurs who start up their business and need
advice or professional support
• Work placements in other countries. Especially interesting is the combination of this project
with student mobility programmes (Leonardo da Vinci, Eurodyssee...)
• Research department of existing companies, where students can be in touch with the
development of new ideas and the creation of new initiatives

b) Practical research work in different disciplines: Its aim is to improve student knowledge
of the local and regional business environment and help them obtain and analyse information
relevant to the concrete needs that can appear before the development of a business project.

c) Research work into ideas suggested by business organisations in the local /regional
environment: To develop research work based on ideas or specific needs of the local or
regional environment. These research works will be carried out in close collaboration with real
companies.

d) Complementary and transversal activities: Activities outside the classroom and outside
the school timetable, that will complete and improve the previously described actions, such as
the following examples, previously carried out:
• Business Motivation Seminars
• Specific seminars (Learning to co-operate, Entrepreneurship & ICT…)
• Conferences addressed to young entrepreneurs or business owners
• Visit to trade fairs (Franchising, Tourism, etc)
• Exhibition and presentation of business projects
• Business presentations
• Visits to companies, Business and Innovation Centres, etc.
• Experience panels, focus groups and dynamic workshops

e) Optional summer courses on enterprise creation and/or skills promotion

f) Diploma in Entrepreneur Skills:

As a need to certify and recognise activities undertaken by the students under the Entrepreneur
Skills Pathway, Florida University created in 2004 a Diploma in Entrepreneur Skills.

This Diploma is a complementary qualification to that obtained by students after completing

their university studies in Tourism, Business Administration or Industrial Engineering.

In order to obtain this Diploma, students will need to go through a series of specific subjects
related to business creation and acquisition of skills required in the current business
environment: observation and analysing skills, team work, flexibility, creativity, decision making,
problem solving, etc.

Minimum requirements:

• The students will at least choose and pass an optional subject on Business Creation.
• Complete an optional and complementary course on the same subject.
• Attend to two extracurricular activities (mentioned above) for which they will obtain 3
academic credits.
• They will also develop a business plan (with the support of the Entrepreneurs Resource
Centre and its staff) and make a presentation before a court composed by business

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 creation lecturers and experts, business organisations from the local and regional
environment, and local/regional development agents.

g) Business projects competitions and awards: Students are encouraged to submit their
projects to existing business projects competitions and awards. They are offered support in
order to adapt their project to the competition requirements.

2.3.1.4. Assessment of entrepreneur skills

The challenge of a method like this is how to assess the development and acquisition of skills
and competences by the students, in a context traditionally used to assessing theoretical
knowledge.

At the time when the method was designed, assessment of entrepreneur skills acquired was
done by the teaching staff as well as through a student survey at the end of the academic year.
The results showed that both students perceived themselves as “more entrepreneur” and the
teaching staff considered they had been able to put the students in touch with essential skills.

However, this was far too subjective.

In March 2005 Florida University carried out research on skills considered by employers to be
the most important to get adapted to changes in the social and economic environment. About
500 business owners and human resources managers were polled. This research has been
funded by the Regional Employment Authorities of the Valencian Community (Spain).

Again those skills highlighted by those polled were: problem solving, flexibility, organisation and
planning skills, motivation towards quality, communication skills, and interpersonal relations,
amongst others.

The second stage of this research project is the creation of a tool that will help assess those
skills by identifying behaviour associated to each of them. This tool will be able to assess the
degree of skills acquisition.

Development of this tool is currently being completed but it will be available to anyone
interested at the beginning of July 2005.

2.3.2. The Entrepreneurs Resource Centre

2.3.2.1. The Centre

The creation of an Entrepreneurs Resource Centre at the training centre is one of the most
important aspects of this method, since it implies creating an essentially different space to the
education centre that promotes and facilitates student contact and familiarisation with the
environments and working methods of the world of work, which are different to those they are
used to in their academic context.

This Resource Centre is physically organised as a place for activity rather than passive
learning, making the students protagonists rather than consumers of the action in which they
are involved.
• Collective activity is favoured, with the provision of spaces for teamwork and meetings.
• Access to specialised bibliographic, computerised and telematic resources is provided.
• Direct contact with people with experience in the environment and in community
development organisations are facilitated. The multi-actor nature of the organisations
involved will guarantee the success of this methodological strategy.

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• The projects formulated by the students will be subject to tutorial control.

The centre is basically a meeting point and a place for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and
experience. It will also serve as a centre for the support and coordination of the activities carried
out within the Entrepreneur Skills Pathway. Our experience permits us to affirm that teaching
staff views this Entrepreneur Centre as a highly useful resource.

Staff in the Resource Centre need not be teaching or economic "experts" rather they should be
"generalists". This implies a variety of knowledge in the fields of training and economics, perfect
knowledge of the local / regional environment and its socio-economic situation, and,
fundamentally, social skills. In fact, the profile of the Resource Centre staff is that of a
development agent. The activity itself involves being permanently available for attending to
students, and for the provision of communication and information tools.

The Entrepreneur Centre should be a space in which any entrepreneur can try out the idea and
simulate a business plan in a safe environment, supported by the human resources and tools
available.

The most stimulating aspect of this approach for the development of the entrepreneur spirit is
the premise that any idea merits attention, however unrealistic the project may appear initially,
the process of the viability study allows the entrepreneur student to enrich and develop the idea,
and avoids discouraging the entrepreneur spirit.

2.3.2.2. Support and consultancy for entrepreneurs

Any entrepreneur tends to suffer doubts during the process of development of the idea, not only
because of the dawning awareness of deficiencies or weak points but also, and above all,
because any entrepreneurial activity involves an element of risk.

In any business idea there is a rational analysis of the environment - and it is worth noting that
this is not an exact science - and a viability study which is based essentially on the
characteristics of the entrepreneur (competences, financial possibilities etc) although market
conditions are not ignored. In the Entrepreneurs Resource Centre, the entrepreneur will find, on
the one hand, the information necessary to carry out the relevant analyses, and on the other
hand, individualised technical advice.

Depending on the resources available, and the characteristics of the organisation promoting the
method, this advice will be of one level or another. In the case of centres that cannot employ
specific staff for this technical advisor role, we suggest two alternatives:

a) Create a team of specialist trainers from different areas that can give voluntary advice to
young entrepreneurs in the first stage of their business plan

b) Produce a list of organisations that give advice, to which entrepreneurs are redirected
depending on the characteristics of their plan. The mere fact of orienting an entrepreneur
regarding the organisation that offers the service best adapted to their needs is of itself
already a great help.

Apart from technical support, and bearing in mind the risk component, the function of guidance
is also important, and it is advisable that the entrepreneur would also have a tutor who could act
as a kind of "godfather" at a more psychological and “human” level. The profile of this person is
based above all on human qualities and a minimum of interests shared with the entrepreneur.
For this reason it is easier to look for this figure in a professional environment related to the
project.

This tutor will be able to transmit his or her experience, as well as facilitating to the entrepreneur
access to his or her network of relationships.

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2.4 Relevant aspects of the method

• Leonardo da Vinci methodology with a high transfer potential, which has been in operation
since its creation in 2000.
• Involvement of socio-economic agents from the local-regional environment.
• It facilitates closer links between the business and educational environments.
• The fact that it is developed in an Education Centre furthermore promotes collaborative
work between professors in the centre and favours interest in pedagogical innovation and
renewal.=

3. REFERENCES

CAMACHO, Amparo; MARTÍNEZ, Empar. The Entrepreneur Spirit in Education. Best

practice handbook. Valencia: Florida Edicions, D.L. 2001.

VERGUIZAS, Antonio; VIORRETA, Carmen; CAMACHO, Amparo. Methodologies for the

Valorisation of Innovation in Vocational Training, and Promotion of the Entrepreneur
Spirit in the Education and Vocational Training (VET) System. Transfer Potential of
Projects and Products. Spain, 2003. Best practice guides, result of the Valorisation Pilot
Action "LdV Social Economy Laboratory" (2002/4642/002-01LE273), promoted and co-
ordinated by CEPES (Spanish Confederation of Social Economy).

Brussels, 21.1.2003 COM (2003) 27 final). Green paper “Entrepreneurship in Europe”.

Brussels, 11.02.2004 COM (2004) 70 final. Action Plan: The European agenda for
Entrepreneurship.

The Bologna Declaration. Joint declaration of the European Ministers of Education. 19th of
June 1999

Brussels, 07.04.1998 COM (98) 222 final.

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