New resources set to foster entrepreneurial learning across Europe

Two new EntreComp resources published by The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) this month are set to further enhance entrepreneurial learning across Europe – one of which The Women’s Organisation is proud to have contributed to.

The publications are expected to be a vital resource in developing understanding of EntreComp - The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework - and the ways it can be applied by its international community of users.

EntreComp is a comprehensive, flexible, and multi-purpose framework designed to help individuals and organisations understand what it means to be entrepreneurial and the key enterprising competences needed for personal development, social inclusion, active citizenship, and employment.

The two new publications, ‘EntreComp at Work: The European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework in action in the labour market: a selection of case studies’ and ‘EntreComp Playbook: Entrepreneurial learning beyond the classroom’, are an important next step in the success and development of EntreComp.

Both of these resources build on the work of ‘EntreComp into Action: Get Inspired and Make It Happen’, a practical user guide for the framework which The Women’s Organisation worked in partnership to create last year.

The EntreComp playbook, offers a toolkit of practices, tools and examples which can be used to support the design and delivery of entrepreneurial learning activities for adult learners.

By developing these entrepreneurial competences in adults, the playbook aims to increase their employability by up-skilling the workforce to face the changing needs of the labour market, to support career progression, as well as business start-ups.

EntreComp At Work showcases 10 case studies, including The Women’s Organisation’s own experiences, which highlight the diversity of ways the framework can be used, including: workforce development, design of training, support for start-ups, and personal development plans.

Having started using EntreComp in 2016, it has been an invaluable resource for us at The Women’s Organisation, particularly in the context of creating employment pathways for women across the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester.

This is achieved through personal development and employability programmes, training and support, as well dedicated programmes for women creating and growing their own businesses, all of which have been mapped against the EntreComp framework.

The Women’s Organisation’s experience of the framework has now been used as a case study in EntreComp At Work.

Lisa McMullan, Director for Development & Consultancy
at The Women’s Organisation

Lisa McMullan, Director for Development & Consultancy at The Women’s Organisation, says: “The importance of entrepreneurial learning and the competencies which go alongside it cannot be underestimated. This is more apparent than ever as communities, educators, and enterprises across the world face unprecedented challenges, which call for resilience, innovation, and collaboration.

“Here at The Women’s Organisation, we have experienced first-hand how EntreComp inspires and enables these key attributes. From the mapping of our training provision and the creation of new training materials, to the development of our own team and tender development at a strategic level, the framework has been an invaluable tool and has helped shape the development of our organisation and its services.

“As a social enterprise, this means that EntreComp has supported us to deliver transformational services which enable underrepresented and disadvantaged groups to take a more active role in social end economic life.

“We now hope that our experiences and learning will inspire and enable others to uptake the framework and explore how entrepreneurial learning can be fostered within their organisation, or as part of their own personal development.”

The Women’s Organisation’s Enterprise Evolution consultancy team are now working with international partners to support the development of the EntreComp 360 platform, as part of the Erasmus+ programme.

This new project is developing toolkits to further support the learning of those using EntreComp. The EntreComp 360 platform will be a one-stop-shop to provide guidance, collate tools, share practice, learn through online training and connect those working on the practical implementation of EntreComp into learning and work.

To find out more about EntreComp and how you can put the framework to use within your organisation, you can read the user guide: ‘EntreComp into Action: Get Inspired and Make It Happen’.