The Skills Builder Partnership was represented in Poland by Tom Ravenscroft at the launch of an EU-supported report on entrepreneurial education.

It was heartening to see the key principles of how we work reflected in a new EU-supported report on entrepreneurial education. The report brought together organisations in Poland, Malta and the UK to explore best practices in entrepreneurial education.

The recommendations in the report

We were pleased to have the opportunity to share what we’ve been doing and the lessons that we’ve been learning – and to see those lessons reflected in both the case studies of the report and the key recommendations that were drawn out:

• The inclusion of entrepreneurship education throughout all levels of education, from the very earliest years of schooling up to graduate and post-graduate education.
• Entrepreneurship education should include formal and non-formal education – both in the classroom and outside of it.
• Learning by doing through active learning is essential.
• Better support teachers through training and resources, and management-level buy-in from school management.
• Build off the proven models already out there (including the Skills Builder approach).
• Create methods for a smooth transition between graduation and becoming an entrepreneur.

It was a pleasure to travel to Poland on the occasion of Global Entrepreneurship Week, to present our work as a case study in the context of that report. It was an even greater pleasure to see our findings backed up by what others say too. We would also add to the list the need to be able to measure the essential skills of your students so as to be able to teach effectively – a subject I’ve written about before.

It is clear that essential skills that we are trying to develop in our students really are universal. There are differences between regions, but fundamentally we all want our children and young people ready for life – and we should continue to push ourselves to learn from the very best of what’s happening, wherever in the world it might be found.

You can download the full report here.