Successful students: enhancing employability through enterprise education Andy Penaluna Park Plaza, Cardiff 4 December 2014
Contexts and triggers for thought Are our students hoping to be employed in stable working environments? Or complex multi-level and ever changing working environments?
Contexts and triggers for thought Please hold up your phone in the air Only keep your hand up if it is a Nokia 7 years ago Nokia owned 50% of the handset market. Apple owned 0%. Today Apple is the most profitable Smartphone company in the world and in Spain Android (Also 7 yrs old) commands a market share of more than 90%. Nokia? Its worldwide market share of Smartphones has dwindled to 5%.
Contexts and triggers for thought We live in a VUCA world: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. This complicates strategic planning and increases business risk, in a landscape more difficult to navigate than ever.
Contexts and triggers for thought We live in a VUCA world: There is a marked and growing belief that UK graduates don t emerge from university hungry enough. BG Group says the best Australian and American graduates are a new and different breed: global, ambitious, alert. Unilever believe their next exceptional talent will come from India and Brazil. Stevenson, M. (Nov 2014) Developing Exceptional Talent: The education of global leaders. National Centre for Universities and Business.
Contexts and triggers for thought We live in a VUCA world: the interviews do suggest that the universities from which these companies have traditionally taken talent are facing a significant challenge: to develop young people with new and remarkable capabilities to address original and complex problems of a global scale. Stevenson, M. (Nov 2014) Developing Exceptional Talent: The education of global leaders. National Centre for Universities and Business.
What s happening out there? Big Data the skills businesses need Analytical skills spot patterns and opportunities Creativity new methods and new interpretations Maths to be able to use unstructured data Technical Computing Skills the tools of the trade Business Skills market and relevance Visualization and communication skills Bernard Marr, World Economic Forum Nov 26 http://forumblog.org/2014/11/big-data-the-key-skills-businesses-need/
Contexts and triggers for thought Growth through people We need to align measurement of schools, colleges and universities more clearly with the outcomes that are needed for sustained growth through people. UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), 25 November 2014
What s going on out there? Young people are suffering when it comes to employment. What can be done and how can we help?
What s going on out there? Since 2000, the number of businesses with no employees and operating under the VAT registration turnover threshold of around 80,000 has almost doubled to around 2.7 million. http://www.nesta.org.uk/rise-micro-entrepreneur#sthash.s0jkugeb.k0tbyja4.dpuf
What s going on out there? SMEs* accounted for 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses in the UK, 59.3 per cent of private sector employment and 48.1 per cent of private sector turnover. SMEs employed 14.4 million people and had a combined turnover of 1,600 billion. Dept of Business Innovation & Skills October 2013 / www.fsb.org.uk/stats
What s going on out there? Small firms are staying small http://www.thersa.org/ data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1549381/everyday- Employers.pdf?_ga=1.220912664.101923545.1417375228
What s going on out there? Multi tasking and multidisciplinary thinking is required artificial categorizations between disciplines do not reflect how people actually live their lives the most promising knowledge frontiers typically exist at the boundaries between fields rather than at the fields respective cores (Prof. Gerald Zaltman, Harvard Mind Brain Behaviour Group).
Employability, Enterprise or Entrepreneurship? more and more graduates turned to SMEs for employment opportunities, and a good enterprising approach was valued in these small and micro businesses Yes the agendas were merging and it was indicated that less than 20% of graduates in the UK found their way into the top 100 companies, hence developing enterprising mindsets was a key requirement for both agendas. http://blogs.heacademy.ac.uk/social-sciences/2013/04/29/changing-society-therole-of-enterprise-education-in-achieving-economic-and-social-impact/
Employability, Enterprise or Entrepreneurship? Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Employability are moving closer together, but enterprising people need to be able to spot opportunities it is a key requirement There is unquestionably an overlap Enterprise Education can enhance careers education and student employability by enabling students to be more opportunity focussed, self-aware and more tuned to the business environment. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/publications/informationandguidance/ Documents/enterprise-guidance.pdf (Page 9)
Employability, Enterprise or Entrepreneurship? enterprise education is defined as the process of equipping students (or graduates) with an enhanced capacity to generate ideas and the skills to make them happen. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/publications/informationandguidance/ Documents/enterprise-guidance.pdf (Page 2)
Employability, Enterprise or Entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship education equips students with the additional knowledge, attributes and capabilities required to apply these abilities in the context of setting up a new venture or business All of this is a prerequisite for entrepreneurial effectiveness http://www.qaa.ac.uk/publications/informationandguidance/ Documents/enterprise-guidance.pdf (Page 2)
What s going on out there? Focus should be put on entrepreneurship education, from primary to tertiary level. Schools and universities need to embrace entrepreneurial education and to become more entrepreneurial themselves. Future priorities of the ET 2020 Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training and Synergies with Youth Policy, p6. Brussels, 9-10 October 2014
What s going on out there? Britain must start preparing now to deal with the coming changes the skills employers most want from staff are digital know-how, management, creativity, entrepreneurship and problem-solving all abilities unlikely to be replaced by developments in technology (place) a premium on workers ability to adapt to new challenges Angus Knowles-Cutler, London senior partner at Deloitte - Following research project with Oxford University s Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne (http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_gb/uk/ef762fa93fa89410vgnvcm1000003256f70arcr D.htm) 10 November 2014
The bigger picture? We are in a three act drama - 150 years into the industrial age. 1 Industrial, needs physically strong and dependable people 2 Information, knowledge is power and he or she who knows more will get on 3 Conceptual, knowledge is available easily how can we make sense of it? Pink, D. (2008), A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. London: Marshall Cavendish.
Learning and evaluating? Do we need people who can talk about innovation or do we need people who can do? Can educators develop Learning Outcomes that distinguish between Innovation and Implementation? "FUTURE PRIORITIES OF THE ET 2020 STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND SYNERGIES WITH YOUTH POLICY Round 1: Promoting excellence and innovation 9/10/2014
Understanding fundamental aspects Enterprising mind With personal motivation there is energy, with energy there is resilience, with resilience, success is likely... Creativity, innovation and opportunity recognition are key intrinsic motivational drivers, they are central to the enterprising mindset
What s going on out there? Where are the new jobs? What typifies the UK job market?
Understanding fundamental aspects Enterprising mindset Overall aim - learning to learn; they use harvested knowledge to societal and economic advantage Enterprising Angels A Penaluna, 2010 Entrepreneur The business developer and enhancer Social entrepreneur The society developer and enhancer
Understanding fundamental aspects Do the maths? Business, Employability, Enterprise minus Innovation and Creativity =?
Understanding fundamental aspects Problems? Business, Employability, Enterprise education minus problems to solve =? minus being able to spot problems =?
Understanding fundamental aspects Problems? Problem solving begins with recognising that a problem situation exists and establishing an understanding of the nature of the situation. It requires the solver to identify the specific problem(s) to be solved, plan and carry out a solution, and monitor and evaluate progress throughout the activity. Creative Problem Solving: Students Skills in tackling real-life Problems Vol. V, p30
Understanding fundamental aspects Problems? Enterprise skills require responsiveness to unexpected pressures and tasks; they require reaction to changing circumstances and disruptive interventions. These attributes are contrary to the established framework of assessment processes. Wilson, T. (2012) A review of business-university collaboration. Dept. of Business Innovation and Skills, p52.
I in assessment is for? If detailed and predefined learning outcomes are used they test one I the ability to Implement what is is needed to evaluate the other I Innovation? "FUTURE PRIORITIES OF THE ET 2020 STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND SYNERGIES WITH YOUTH POLICY Round 1: Promoting excellence and innovation 9/10/2014
Rediscover the creativity of childhood Good creative connections surprise you
Making distinction between the two I s Implementation Doing things that are determined by others and matching against their expectations Innovation Producing multiple and varied solutions that respond to change and often surprise
Making distinction between the two I s Implementation Can the student write and follow a business plan? Innovation Can the student respond positively to short term and ever changing venture environments?
Making distinction between the two I s Implementation Can the student come up with a good idea? Innovation Can the student come up with multiple ideas that respond to changing circumstances?
Making distinction between the two I s Implementation Does the student s solution match the expectation of the test or exam? Innovation Does the student s solution surprise through new insights and alternatives?
Making distinction between the two I s Implementation Can the solution be easily compared and contrasted to previous work and understandings? Innovation Does the solution offer new insights and potentially challenge accepted understandings?
An Education System fit for an Entrepreneur Initiated by Rt Hon David Willets MP Minister for Universities and Science / Anne Marie Morris MP, Chair APPG Micro Businesses
Emphasis on All Party - so a wide range of documents and policy perspectives consulted Tasked to investigate thinking across all levels of education Tasked to align thinking with the views of entrepreneurs and small businesses An Education System fit for an Entrepreneur
Sample of Key Findings Evidence suggests that learning for innovation needs to be implicit and not seen as a bolt on experience. Our education systems need to deliver knowledge harvesters, not merely knowledge retainers Flexibility and adaptability are key skills and behaviours, yet many educational systems conspire against them An Education System fit for an Entrepreneur
More thinking required? Locating the thinking for assessment Contexts or standards? Convergent or divergent styles of thinking?
What s happening at grass roots? Startups and micros have little budget to advertise, so they rely on their own innovation and networks, for example: I only asked them to respond with 10 questions about the opportunity if they replied, for 10 more. Those that replied got an interview
What s happening out there? All I said was my first and last name the bright ones would google me and find out more. For every 100 who saw the ad only 1 one was proactive enough to reply saved me a lot of sifting I don t want talkers. I want people who can do. Mathew Gallizzi Growth strategist for start ups https://medium.com/@mgallizzi/3-unheard-of-startup-hiring-tips-to-find-the-best- 7ff91226fe31
In summary We need flexible and adaptable thinkers who are experienced through their education and can respond to shifting and changing scenarios whilst communicating well within complex situations in an innovative and self-determined way In the international arena of employability, it the students with enterprising skills who will have the advantage
Conclusion Enterprising skills, attitudes and knowledge can enhance employability through improved motivation / opportunity recognition, flexible / adaptable response mechanisms, comunication skills and enhanced business understanding. Challenge To develop assessment strategies that align with both innovation and implementation understandings when did you last predict a good idea?
Your thoughts, views opinions and ideas? Andy Penaluna, Park Plazza, Cardiff, 4 December 2014