The Benefits of Entrepreneurship Education for Learners

There has never been a time when the need for entrepreneurship education has been greater. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased unemployment and exacerbated existing structural inequalities in the labour market and within our wider society. Entrepreneurship can be a way of tackling unemployment through creating new job opportunities and catalysing economic growth. According to the third edition of the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report, half of us will need to reskill in the next five years, due to the disruption of the combined economic impact of the pandemic and increasing automation transforming jobs. As a result, today’s university students are more likely to have multiple career paths than their counterparts of previous generations. Approximately, 65% of children entering primary school today will end up with jobs that do not currently exist. While we cannot predict the future, we can prepare our students for it through providing them with learning experiences that develop essential skills and mindsets which might enhance their career adaptability to navigate this uncertain new world of work. 

Entrepreneurship Education 
The entrepreneurial mindset is seen as a valuable asset that can enhance the career adaptability of our students. An entrepreneurial mindset is a set of skills that empowers us to develop innovative ideas, overcome challenges, create solutions, and take action to pursue opportunities. These competencies enable entrepreneurs to adapt to change in an uncertain environment. 

Entrepreneurship education involves activities that foster entrepreneurial mindsets, attitudes and skills and covers diverse areas such as business idea development, start-up, project management, technology and financial management. 21st-century skills are an integral part of entrepreneurship education. Entrepreneurship education fosters innovation, creativity, adaptability, leadership skills, collaboration, communication and  critical thinking. Entrepreneurship education can be embedded in higher education through providing students with opportunities to learn from experienced entrepreneurs while providing experiential learning experiences where students learn by doing. This promotes active learning and encourages students to construct new knowledge from multiple perspectives. Entrepreneurship education can empower students to become self-employed and create employment opportunities. While some students may not choose to become entrepreneurs following entrepreneurship education, they will have developed valuable intrapreneurial skills that can bring a real difference to diverse work environments.

What we do
This year, Learning Connected will focus on the role of international entrepreneurship education for learners. We will host a range of panel discussions, events and workshops to provide students with impactful learning experiences to develop key entrepreneurship competencies. 

Learning Connected 
Learning Connected is a global platform that empowers today’s learners so that they thrive and shape their world for the better.