Discover – Identify your entrepreneurial skills and start-up! Erasmus Project

Project Title

Discover – Identify your entrepreneurial skills and start-up!

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Recognition (non-formal and informal learning/credits)

Project Summary

DISCOVER was initiated in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy, which recognises entrepreneurship and self-employment as key to achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. But founding one’s own start-up also means risks. So what makes a person a successful entrepreneur and how can the risks be minimized? The Discover project addressed these questions and dealt with entrepreneurial skills and competences. Not everyone is an entrepreneur and a personal assessment before starting-up is a crucial aspect to minimize risks and increase the chances for a successful business.
The DISCOVER project results offer this personal assessment, in combination with preparatory consultancy and an Online Competence Trainer. Potential start-ups are given the opportunity to evaluate self-employment as an option for their professional future by actively exploring their skills.
The DISCOVER project started in October 2018 and since then the partnership has successfully developed and implemented the ProfilPASS for Start-ups as an innovative counselling and training tool for inclusive entrepreneurship to motivate and support people interested in starting a business in terms of active labour market participation.
As intended, the project results are thus aimed specifically at people who have no experience with self-employment and business start-ups, as well as at counsellors who would like to work with the ProfilPASS system in the context of coaching potential founders.
With the ProfilPASS for Start-ups, DISCOVER offers these potential founders a way to assess their skills and competences, based on the ProfilPASS philosophy that considers not only formal but also informal and non-formal competences to be relevant for their entrepreneurial venture, and based on the EntreComp framework that describes relevant competences for entrepreneurship. The intensive personal assessment helps to minimise risks and increase chances for a successful business, as participants become aware of their strengths, but also of areas where they need further training.
A complementary online competence trainer serves as a tool for business founders and counsellors to strengthen those competences that had a weaker assessment result with interactive exercises and materials.
To ensure sustainable quality and effectiveness of the counselling and training process, the DISCOVER project has also produced a manual for counsellors working with the ProfilPASS, detailing the counselling process, session plans and materials. In addition, there is a protected area on the project website with relevant resources specifically for counsellors working with the project target group.
The ProfilPASS for start-ups and all other results are available as OER via the project website.
At the staff training in May 2020, two people from each partner country were trained to offer counselling themselves and to train others in the ProfilPASS method for start-ups. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this training was organised and conducted online, instead of on-site at DIE as originally planned.
The training participants then conducted train-the-trainer sessions in their respective countries to ensure the intended cascade effect and support for sustainability beyond the project period.
Overall, the project team is positive that the DISCOVER project achieved its goal of supporting people to successfully start sustainable businesses by providing them with a realistic assessment of their strengths and training needs, targeted training opportunities and relevant information.
During the test phase, the new guidance and training materials and methods were piloted in each project country. The evaluation results provided positive feedback, not only underlining the quality and usefulness of the products for users and advisors.
Overall, the project team is positive that the DISCOVER project has achieved its goal of supporting people to reflect deeply on their capabilities in terms of entrepreneurship and to successfully start sustainable businesses by providing them with a realistic assessment of their strengths and training needs, targeted training opportunities and relevant information.

Project Website

http://www.discover-startup.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 296243,31 Eur

Project Coordinator

WISAMAR BILDUNGSGESELLSCHAFT GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBH & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Deutsches Institut fuer Erwachsenenbildung eV Leibniz-Zentrum für Lebenslanges Lernen
• FORMACION PARA EL DESARROLLO E INSERCION, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA
• CENTRUL PENTRU PROMOVAREA INVATARII PERMANENTE TIMISOARA ASOCIATIA
• I AND F EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
• STOWARZYSZENIE ARID