Given suggestions in the press that the UK Government will be rebuilding a post-pandemic economy through skills and innovation, supported by the lifetime skills guarantee (which provides funding for English FE  training) it is clear that a competency based approach to #EntEd can help evidence skill development.

Since the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework was launched in 2016, ‘EntreComp’ has gained considerable traction with UK enterprise educators working with future entrepreneurs.  However the launch of the 2020 EntreComp report “Entrepreneurial Employee in Public and Private sector” provided a clear rationale, if it were needed, for enterprise educators to use EntreComp more widely across the curriculum and within Careers and personal development.

EEUK Associates are increasing using ‘EntreComp’ to underpin start-up programmes and delivery, curriculum development and regional strategies as well as institutional planning and development.  Associates are taking EntreComp into coaching and counselling sessions with those running SMEs to explore opportunities for:

• Self-assessment: using EntreComp to know yourself better (using online line tools like the free to access Finnish tool fi and also the more extensive ‘myEntreCompOnline’ (small fee) see etctoolkit for more details)
• Personal Development: creating your own roadmap for personal development as a business owner and entrepreneur
• Team assessment: using EntreComp to create an experience map across the team in support of business development and future recruitment
• Assessing Business Need: appreciating opportunities for stretch goals and identifying where you can’t do it all!
• Recruitment, team development and business planning: working out where strengths lie, and where others can support

Clearly using EntreComp at work to frame discussions can highlight new ways of working as well as support long term development by keeping the spotlight on flexibility, adaptability, learning and experimentation.

To continue to capture the benefits of using EntreComp to frame our work, EEUK is currently collecting case studies of how EntreComp is being used across education to support the #EntEd agenda.  Now is a great time to share your practice with the sector through the ETCToolkit (maybe as a starting point to submitting your EEUK Fellowship) but if you just want to find out more about EntreComp, then start with our EEUK EntreComp guide and save the date for EEUK event ‘EntreComp: Keeping enterprise education relevant to students in a time of uncertainty’ on May 13^th.

Alison Price, Head of Policy and Professional Development, EEUK