Returning to the labour market through Entrepreneurship Erasmus Project

Project Title

Returning to the labour market through Entrepreneurship

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education

Project Summary

According to Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, to bring Europe back to growth and higher levels of employment, Europe needs more entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial education and training is one of the three action pillars of this Action Plan. It confirms once more that one of the most important factors for success of a start-up is the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of its founder or entrepreneurial team.

RE-ENTER addressed the needs of older entrepreneurs (over 45) for improved entrepreneurial skills and support, in different phases of entrepreneurial venture – from developing business idea and plan, to establishing a company and during its first steps in the market, and taking full advantage of intergenerational learning through interaction with young entrepreneurs.

During the last recession, older (redundant) workers found themselves in a harsher labor market and experienced longer jobless spells than cohorts who lost their jobs during less severe recessions. Many initiatives to encourage enterprise creation have been focused on young people to help them get out of unemployment and onto the first rung of the job ladder. If younger people are the lost generation than older workers are the forgotten generation. Being out of work is depressing, demoralising and soul-destroying whatever your age, but unemployment can hit you especially hard when you reach your are 45 or older. Especially because this age group has more than younger people commitments like mortgages to pay, education of children to cover families to care for, and even support grown up children who are out of a job.

Unemployed and workers of over 45 have a wealth of skills and experience that are not only beneficial to the economy but will help teach the next generation of workers, but unable to find a job, many attempt to start their own business, using the know-how acquired in their previous workplace. One would expect that having gained relevant experience and skills working for someone else, they have an established network of contacts and may find it easier to gain access to the initial start-up capital. Unfortunately, experience shows that a large part of such start-ups fail, have little economic impact, and generate little employment, and although the over-45 entrepreneurs have good knowledge on their sector and relevant expertise in their line of work, they lack the specific skills and knowledge on starting and running a successful and sustainable business.

Unemployed and workers over 45 need thus more exposure to entrepreneurship, they have the skills and experience to make a success of their new enterprise and, more importantly, this in combination with their maturity can reduce the risk of failure. The project aimed to understand the skills most needed by the potential and new entrepreneurs of over 45 particularly for partner countries, and provided answer through a Entrepreneurial Development programme fully catered for their specific needs and which will offer full support for development of entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and skills, and delivered it in a playful and effective way.

The objectives of RE-ENTER thus included the development of Entrepreneurial Development Practices for unemployed and workers of over 45; needs analysis; exchange of experiences and best practices in entrepreneurial development, training and support; combining innovative approaches and development of a new Entrepreneurial Development Programme. At the same time it provided an innovative and inspiring learning environment through ICT which included creativity exercises, youtube videos, logbooks. The European dimension of the project allowed to disseminate the project results in 6 European countries (Croatia, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Norway) and made the training available to a substantial number of potential and new entrepreneurs.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 225311 Eur

Project Coordinator

Razvojna agencija VTA & Country: HR

Project Partners

• Found.ation Maker’s Place Private Company
• STICHTING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FRIESLAND
• EOLAS S.L.
• Learning Detours V.A. Ltd
• EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY (ECWT) FORENING