The aim of this High-Level Capacity Building Seminar is have an international exchange of information on inclusive entrepreneurship actions across the European Union and on how the European Union Structural Funds can be used to support actions that combine entrepreneurship promotion and social inclusion.

1. The key ingredients of training coaching and
mentoring for youth entrepreneurs
OECD Capacity Building Seminar
Supporting youth in entrepreneurship
22nd
-23rd
September 2014
Professor Robert Blackburn
Small Business Research Centre
Kingston University
http://business.kingston.ac.uk/sbrc
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2. Objectives of presentation
• Stimulate thinking regarding training, coaching and
mentoring of youth entrepreneurs
• Reflect on previous interventions
• Help identify specific requirements for youth training
• What should be delivered?
• How can this be delivered effectively?
• Open up discussion: experiences and wider lessons
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3. Contextualising youth enterprise
• Importance of understanding heterogeneity of youth
• Some are already doing it!
– Long-term attractiveness
– Enterprise spans all economic activities
• But most are not involved
– In work; education; unemployed
• A gap between entrepreneurial intentions and action
(eg. EuroFlashBarometer)
– Suggests ideas not been realised?
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4. Eg. levels of entre -engagement by youth population
(Univ students, GUESSS data 2014)
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5. The challenges
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• Plethora of youth enterprise initiatives
– Local, national, international; 50+ years (eg. Young
Enterprise)
• But how successful have these been?
– Little systematic of evidence on what works
• But evidence on need to segmentation of market
• Implies targeted programmes and methods of
delivery
– How does this relate to youth entrepreneurship?

6. Stereotyping capabilities for youth entrepreneurship
• Enthusiasm and motivation
• Cultural context: socialisation, education
• Social & human capital?
• Financial capital?
• Hence, difference between entrepreneurial
intentions and action
• Demographics should influence content and
delivery methods
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7. Career intentions: 5 yrs and immediately after studies
• Rise in interest in business ownership with time
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8. Variations in career interest 5 yrs by gender
• Males more likely to be interested business ownership
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9. Heterogeneity of ‘Youth’: influences on intentions
• Gender +ve males
• Age ~
• Experiences: cultural differences +ve parental
• Education levels +ve
• NEETs vs Education vs Employment
• Shown to influence intentions
= No ‘blueprint’ for content and delivery
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10. And attendance on entrepreneurship courses (multi
response)
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11. Design of youth entrepreneurship programmes
• Content and curriculum
• Focus on developing entrepreneurial mindsets
– Recognising and acting on an opportunity
• +ve association with levels of education
• Encourage attitudinal changes
– Learn by doing
– Experimentation
– Be prepared to accept failure and learn from it
– L(earning)=O(pportunity)+C(hallenge)+H(elp)+F(orgiveness)
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12. Enhancing skills and competencies
• Enhance the means to practise entrepreneurship
– Raise youth’s ability to mobilise resources
– Fill gaps in youth’s social and financial capital
• Fit with specific contexts and demographics
– What is needed? What are the specific challenges?
• Identify wider cultural and social networks
– Importance of socio-economic-cultural contexts
– eg. Females, minority groups, low-income, high income
localities
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13. Trends in learning in small firms: 1980s-2000s
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Behaviour – the person
Whole person development –
what should the entrepreneur
know? (eg. traits) Is there a recipe
to be taught? - 1980s
Competences – the tasks
What the entrepreneur should be
able to do? What can they do?
Output based functional analysis -
1990s
Manager in role
Focused within the organisation
and their community. Tacit
understandings, input of others;
group learning Current
Manager in role – the situated
learner
Focused on individuals in context
and their ability to critically
reflect- situated learning 2000s

14. Components of effective entrepreneurship
• Knowledge and professional practice:
– eg. Competency development finance
• Skills and attitudes: behavioural
– eg. leadership technical
• Meta-qualities:
– ability to reflect on self-knowledge, collect new
knowledge
• We can i/d components but how delivered?
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15. Types of learning approaches
• Traditional ways of information transfer
– Classroom; distance learning; self-study
• Behavioural development- human capital
– Role plays; problem solving
• Meta-qualities
– Action learning sets; learning to learn; i/d self-
weaknesses
• Many learning theories:
– But need to i/d relevant balance of above
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16. Typical programme content
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17. Tacit learning through engagement with peers &
networks
• Partnership involvement: meet with financiers,
banks, landlords, incubators, trade and professional
organisations
• Mentoring with peers
– Importance of meeting and learning from peers
• Face-to-face interaction effective
• Delivery – context specific. egs.
• Need to connect youth with knowledge networks
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18. Summary
• Need to identify specific requirements of youth entrepreneurs
• Tailor programmes according to
– Needs within a context (eg. current labour mkt position)
– Outcomes of intervention
• Encourage use of real examples from peers
– Curriculum content; method of delivery
– But link with learning theories and prior experiences
• Monitoring and evaluation
– Ongoing
– Reflective
• Feed into new programmes to increase efficacy
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19. Thank you
Robert Blackburn
r.blackburn@kingston.ac.uk
http://business.kingston.ac.uk/robertblackburn
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