"Why does Europe lag behind its competitors in entrepreneurial attitudes?"

The EU has begun a conversation that seeks to answer this very question. The consultation kicks off the European Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan and has invited all relevant parties to enter the talks in order to "bring together the best practices for the broadest impact across Europe". The APPGE held its own Enterprise Forum in the House of Lords this month hosted by the Earl of Erroll and Helene Martin Gee. Attendees included entrepreneurs, academics, The Pink Shoe Club as well as guest speakers Joysy John, Sian Prime and Dr Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj; all of whom discussed the APPGE's contribution in relation to education. 

There were two broad themes discussed throughout the forum which highlight fundamental issues surrounding entrepreneurship in the UK. First, is the lack of an entrepreneurial culture to inspire enterprise. Second, is that institutions are inadequate in facilitating the four main requirements of a successful entrepreneur[1]: Know-how, Finance, Confidence and Contacts. In other words, problems with both agency and structure were highlighted. In light of these, there were some real points of interest highlighted:

 > Institutions are uncoordinated. There isn’t an ‘holistic approach’ to get entrepreneurs inspired and then up and running. Instead, there is a gap between grassroots energy and the business environment, which is exacerbated by a cultural stubbornness to encourage or support entrepreneurship.

  > Too much ‘red tape’ in education means that it fails to ‘bring to the surface’ the natural endowments needed by entrepreneurs to progress. Examples were given where red tape, such as CRB checks, made it impossible for schools to hold talks that could inspire students. When red tape inhibits the encouragement of one's natural ability to be ‘entrepreneurial’, the culture of entrepreneurship is severely diminished.

  > University is too little too late. By the time students get to university it is too late to encourage the ‘culture’ of entrepreneurship. Students often learn within a rigid framework and aren’t able to use the required ‘problem based’ knowledge learned. 

  > "Soft-Skills" aren’t taught in schools. It was noted that in addition to obstacles within the education system, the teaching in 'soft-skills' is undermined by ‘professional teachers’ who don’t have the background to inspire an entrepreneurial mindset among their students.

Fostering the best conditions for entrepreneurship requires a cultural incentive in addition to an effective set of institutions to support it. The conversation here suggests that in the UK a cultural gap is compounded by a fragmented approach to realising it.

The APPGE will have its formal contribution published later this month.

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[1] A number of the Forum's contributors used synonymous terms for these throughout the discussion. 

Author: Tom Dunbar of the APPGE