Executive Summary (in English

Executive Summary

This study was conducted in the Philippines by a team of three researchers connected with the Association of Development Facilitators and Enterprise Counselors (ADFEC). It was done within the context of the GetYES2 project in cooperation with CEFE Macedonia. The study covered youth from three educational institutions based in Quezon City (Metro Manila), Rodriguez (Rizal), and San Fernando (Camarines Sur).

The researchers fielded an electronic questionnaire which the young people could access via a link. In Camarines Sur, the researcher conducted field interviews to complete the task on time. Researchers translated and explained the questions verbally for some young people who had difficulty understanding business terms in English. A total of 60 completed responses came back, most of which were from females aged 18 to 25. Majority of respondents have not had training in entrepreneurship before, and nearly all reported intentions to start an enterprise, or had aspirations to be intrapreneurs.

Most of the respondents were self-confident, saying that they had a good idea for a business, had the necessary finances and the needed competencies to manage a business. They had the support of family, and no indication was found that motivation to enter business would be a problem. Nonetheless, they indicated the problem areas which might get in the way of their successfully running a business. Most of the problems had to do with such business management competencies as having a clear strategy, managing change, understanding and calculating costs, taking over entrepreneurial functions, conflict management, digital transformation and marketing.

The report provides suggested topics to emphasize in a training program for a group similar to the young people surveyed. The program needs to equip them in accepting responsibility, managing and controlling risk, and utilizing their knowledge of their own personal entrepreneurial competencies. They need to learn how to formulate a clear business strategy, beginning with a good match of an idea with the needs and wants of the market. All marketing skills listed in the questionnaire ought to be included in the training. Organization and production management skills, such as conflict management, going digital, organizing work and production flow as well as understanding costs ought to be emphasized. This was also true for competencies on finance, as participants reported great inadequacy in understanding and preparing the different financial statements. Training inputs on business planning will also be relevant, as many of the survey participants had no knowledge about the elements that go into starting an enterprise.

It was found that face-to-face modes of training, particularly working with others to see how they do things, are the preferred ways of learning.