Purpose of Educating and Cultivating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs

The efforts of every country governments to stem the unemployment problem by creating job opportunities, through planned programmes both in the private and public sectors, are ever increasing, however there is still a considerable gap to be closed. Why?

At the root of it, is more than simply stemming the issue of unemployment, rather it is  the nurturing of a spirit of innovation, of developing and implementing the infrastructure and framework to do so and believing in the genuine work ethic and enterprise of the youth.

Equally important is the power that education has in developing the skills that generate an entrepreneurial mind set and in preparing future leaders for solving more complex, interlinked and fast-changing problems.

International Entrepreneurs Association, United Kingdom (IEA, UK) believes that entrepreneurship results in increased innovation and sustained economic growth.

• We see enormous potential in investing in entrepreneurship education in order to nurture talent and develop the next wave of leaders and innovators who will not only create jobs and value for society, but also empower others to create a better future.

• We believe entrepreneurial skills, attitudes and behaviours can be learned, and that exposure to entrepreneurship education throughout an individual’s lifelong learning path, starting from youth and continuing through adulthood into higher education – as well as reaching out to those economically or socially excluded – is imperative.

Our IEA Youth Chapter Platform highlights the key reasons why it is important to focus on entrepreneurship:

• It contributes directly to job creation and growth: increasingly new and small firms are the major providers of new jobs; entrepreneurship can foster social and economic cohesion in underdeveloped regions; entrepreneurship can stimulate economic activity and integrate unemployed or disadvantaged people into work, etc.

• It is crucial to competitiveness: it results in increased efficiency and innovation in firms – in terms of organisation, processes, products, services or markets; it enhances the competitiveness of an economy as a whole and thus offers consumers greater choice and lower price.

• It unlocks personal potential: in addition to material motivations such as money and status, people become entrepreneurs as a means to self-fulfilment such as freedom, independence and the challenge.

• It is in society’s interest: entrepreneurs are the key drivers of the market economy and their achievements provide societies with wealth, jobs and diversity of choice for consumers.

• It is associated with certain behaviour patterns, such as readiness to take risks and a taste for independence and self-realisation.