Enterprise:101 - What Are Enterprise Skills?

WHAT ARE ENTERPRISE SKILLS?

EntreComp defines entrepreneurship as a ‘transversal competence which applies to all spheres of life’. The enterprise skillset can be applied to drive forward positive change by nurturing personal development and lifelong learning, encourage active participation in society, inspire (re)entry to the workplace as an employee or self-employed person, as well as enabling venture start-up (social, cultural or commercial). Essentially, the enterprise skills can be considered as skills for learning, life and work.

In 2009, Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work was released. This contains key messages about how children and young people develop and apply skills as part of Curriculum for Excellence. It confirmed that:

“The skills and attributes which children and young people develop should provide them with a sound basis for their development as lifelong learners in their adult, social and working lives, enabling them to reach their full potential.”

In 2018, Skills Development Scotland released the Skills 4.0 framework, this document outlined the ‘meta-skills’ that are required by individuals through all aspects of their lives. These skills themselves aren’t new, but how we categorise them helps us to identify and develop them.

Despite there being a lot of correlation and crossover among the skills, they can be segmented into three groups:

SELF MANAGEMENT

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

INNOVATION

Via our Skills Framework resource you can see our outline of the enterprise skills which are represented across the Skills 4.0 model.

When we talk about ‘enterprise skills’, we include in this the knowledge, attributes and attitudes; covering much of the same ground, however categorised slightly differently and reworded for a young audience.

Which of these enterprise skills do you use in your current role?

Which of them do you encourage among your learners?

Do you need support to develop them through your teaching and learning? We can help!

Whether you term them as 'enterprise skills' or 'meta skills', they are skills that will support learners in their abilities to engage with opportunity providers and gain real-life learning relevant to their lives, their part in their community and wider society, and the workplace.