Three reasons why we should think about employability in entrepreneurship education

By Carolin Decker-Lange

Many people think that the purpose of entrepreneurship education at universities is to help students to start their own ventures. This is not fully in line with the QAA, the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, which defines entrepreneurship education as “the application of enterprise behaviours, attributes and competencies into the creation of cultural, social or economic value. This can, but does not exclusively, lead to venture creation” (QAA, 2018, p. 7). Indeed, knowledge and skills in entrepreneurship can also enhance students’ employability (Gibb, 1996). However, the relationship between entrepreneurship education and employability is not well understood (Ustav & Venesaar, 2018).

Addressing this gap, my colleagues Knut Lange (Royal Holloway, University of London), Andreas Walmsley (Coventry University) and I started a cross-university scholarship project. We think that there are at least three reasons why we should know more about the potential link between entrepreneurship education and employability.

1. Employability is an indicator of educational value

The number of universities offering entrepreneurship education has been rapidly increasing for some decades (Kuratko & Morris, 2018). Thereby, the ‘aims of entrepreneurship education have been extending beyond business creation and management skills to students’ preparation for work and life. Graduates’ employability and success are of concern to universities and are often measured as indicators of educational value’ (Ustav & Venesaar, 2018, p. 674).

Findings from a previously completed scholarship project support this view (Decker-Lange et al., 2020). One of our research participants reported that students who had completed an entrepreneurship programme at their university and received funding for starting their own ventures eventually opted against being start-up entrepreneurs. Instead, they pursued a career in established organisations after graduation. For employers these students were attractive because of their participation in this programme and offered them a job. Possibly, enterprising students are better equipped to cope with uncertainty and rapid changes in economy and society than students who have not been exposed to entrepreneurship education (Rae, 2007). 

2. Employability and entrepreneurship skills overlap

According to the Office for Students, employability ‘refers to the skills and competencies that a student gains as they progress throughout their higher education programme to ultimately enhance their chances of finding meaningful and sustained employment’ (Office for Students, 2021). In our current scholarship work, we asked experts across British universities, among them researchers, enterprise educators, entrepreneurs-in-residence, enterprise officers, employability consultants and careers advisors, to elaborate on, first, their understanding of employability and, second, typical entrepreneurial attributes. Our initial findings reveal considerable overlaps. For instance, creativity, innovation, passion, perseverance, resilience, leadership, planning and problem-solving skills, collaboration and communication skills were aspects that our interviewees often associated with both aspects.

3. Entrepreneurship education goes beyond skills development

In a seminal article, Rae criticises a narrow focus on skills development because a graduate ‘is not simply the carrier of a set of “skills, knowledge and personal attributes”’ (2007, p. 607). This criticism paves the way for broadening the purpose of entrepreneurship education. It is not solely about equipping students with the skills necessary for new venture creation, but also about preparing them, for example, for the management of small firms (Gibb, 1996) or family business succession and transgenerational entrepreneurship (Jaskiewicz et al., 2015). The findings from our on-going scholarship work support this view. Some interviewees also pointed to a potential time lag between the exposure to entrepreneurship education and the start of a new venture, because entrepreneurship can be a career option that is considered many years after graduation. In short, entrepreneurship education nurtures ‘enterprising individuals’ (Ustav & Venessar, 2018, p. 674) who behave effectively in diverse contexts. 

Where do we go from here?

Drawing on online interviews with experts across British universities, we aim to shed new light on the potential link between entrepreneurship education and employability and the contextual factors shaping it. This reflects the insight that ‘context clearly plays an important role in what is possible, achievable and appropriate’ (Neergaard et al., 2020, p. 820). In our scholarship work, we go beyond the mere identification of skills. Instead, we develop a framework combining graduate identity (Holmes, 2001), entrepreneurial identity (Hytti, 2005) and entrepreneurship education ecosystems (Brush, 2014). We also aim to stimulate the exchange of knowledge within and across universities and specify initiatives in entrepreneurship education that are especially useful in nurturing employability.

References 

• Brush, C.G. (2014). Exploring the concept of an entrepreneurship education ecosystem. In D.F. Kuratko, S. Hoskinson, & G. Libecap (eds.), Innovative Pathways for University Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century (pp. 25-39). Bingley: Emerald. 
• Decker-Lange, C., Lange, K., Dhaliwal, S., & Walmsley, A. (2020). Exploring entrepreneurship education effectiveness at British universities – an application of the World Café method. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. DOI:10.1177/2515127420935391 
• Gibb, A.A. (1996). Entrepreneurship and small business management: Can we afford to neglect them in the twenty‐first century business school? British Journal of Management, 7(4), 309-321.
• Holmes, L. (2001). Reconsidering graduate employability: The ‘graduate identity’ approach. Quality in Higher Education, 7(2), 111-119. 
• Hytti, U. (2005). New meanings for entrepreneurs: From risk-taking heroes to safe-seeking professionals. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 18(6), 594-611. 
• Jaskiewicz, P., Combs, J. & Rau, S. (2015). Entrepreneurial legacy: Toward a theory of how some family firms nurture transgenerational entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(1), 29-49.
• Kuratko, D.F., & Morris, M.H. (2018). Examining the future trajectory of entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management, 56, 11-23.
• Neergard, H., Gartner, W.B., Hytti, U., Politis, D., & Rae, D. (2020). Editorial: Filling in the blanks: “Black boxes” in enterprise/entrepreneurship education. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 26(5), 817-828. 
• Office for Students (2021). Employability. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/promoting-equal-opportunities/access-and-participation-glossary/ (accessed on 2nd February 2021).
• Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2018). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaas/enhancement-and-development/enterprise-and-entrpreneurship-education-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=15f1f981_8 (accessed on 2nd February 2021).
• Rae, D. (2007). Connecting enterprise and graduate employability. Challenges to the higher education culture and curriculum? Education and Training, 49(8/9), 605-619.
• Ustav, S., & Venesaar, U. (2018). Bridging metacompetencies and entrepreneurship education. Education and Training, 60(7), 674-695.

 This blog represents the views of the individual, not SCiLAB or The Open University.