More graduates are entering the job market with limited scope for creating their own entreprises as they may not have had an opportunity to practise what they were taught.
In this article, SENIOR LECTURER OBRIAN MKALI of Botho University explains how this calls for a real practice venture-based approach for students.
Rising youth unemployment is one of the most significant problems facing economies and societies in today’s world, both developed and emerging economies like Botswana. Globally, at least 475 million new jobs need to be created over the next decade to absorb the 73 million youth currently unemployed and the 40 million new annual entrants to the labour market.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, surveys suggest that both employers and youth consider that many graduates are ill-prepared for the world of work. In Botswana, the unemployment rate is currently at 26%. Additionally, more graduates are entering the job market with limited scope for creating their own entreprises as they may have not had an opportunity to practice what they were taught. Generally, learners in entrepreneurship courses prepare paper ventures as opposed to real practice ventures due to limited funding.
The real practice venture approach gives the youth critical skills in design thinking, lean methodology and pitching their ideas successfully to potential investors or funders. It equips the youth with knowledge and understanding to develop a business model from a problem area and to raise the requisite capital to fund their idea.
HOW CAN AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET AND SPIRIT BE INFUSED INTO THE YOUTH?
Based on the application of the Entrepreneurial Learning Institution Canvas (ELIC) as a conceptual tool for strengthening entrepreneurial learning the aforementioned question can be answered. My experience with teaching and learning using this tool at a selected higher tertiary institution in Botswana highlights the effectiveness of the real practice venture approach. As a result, several practice ventures have grown into start-ups that employ their own founding owners in areas that range from agribusiness to cosmetics in Botswana. Regionally, a plethora of start-ups with interests ranging from mixed farm poultry and piggery, recycling of face masks and sweet potato bakery have also emerged.
DEFINING ENTREPRENEURSHIP LEARNING
The term ‘entrepreneurship education’ refers to learning to become entrepreneurial (cultivating a mindset and action), learning to become an entrepreneur to create a venture (acquiring skills and knowledge) and becoming an entrepreneur by founding a venture (entrepreneurship as practice).
OVERLAPPING STEPS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP LEARNING
Frequently asked questions regarding this approach include the following: Question: Which type of education and training currently provide entrepreneurial learning, to which groups of learners, at which levels, and how successful was the planning and implementation process? Question: What competencies and curriculum content have been selected, and what are the modes of delivery, i.e. the organisation and methods of instruction? Question: Which curriculum approach should be developed to achieve entrepreneurial competencies? Question: Should entrepreneurial learning be provided as a separate compulsory subject, a transversal element in an existing subject, as an elective subject or a combination of both, as well as being embedded in the overall curriculum?
CORE ELEMENTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP PEDAGOGY
Common answers to the questions posed above are embedded in the developing or refining of the real practice venture approach in entrepreneurial learning as enunciated below. With the aim of empowering the learner with an entrepreneurial mindset and developing intrapreneurship skills. The approach favours conducting hands-on and real Practice Venture (rPV) pitching tasks which are guided by design thinking principles which are used to generate ideas to solve a problem, including brainstorming and developing a business model.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A MINDSET
An entrepreneurial mindset consists of interrelated beliefs and assumptions that inform our decisions and guide our behaviour. It is a way of creative thinking that helps a person overcome challenges, be decisive and accept responsibility by driving them to improve their skills, learn from mistakes and take continuous action on ideas.
RATIONALE AND BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSETS
There are several benefits associated with the development of an entrepreneurial mindset and spirit for the youth to create their own enterprises. Firstly, it is for personal development. Secondly, it is for economic development. It develops the youth’s perspectives for the future, self-entrepreneurs as leading figures, growth of the creative economy and responding to the dynamics of society.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A PROCESS
Entrepreneurship can be viewed as a dynamic process consisting of different phases. The first involves identifying possibilities and one’s own potential – without regard for the resources an individual currently controls. This is the starting point for developing new ideas that create value for an individual, a company or society.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A METHOD
The entrepreneurial method is a way of thinking and acting that is built on a set of guidelines about the mechanisms underlying entrepreneurial action, such as effecting change or experimenting with new ways of doing things.
OBrian Mkali holds PhD in Entrepreneurship, University of South Africa (UNISA) (2021) and can be contacted: 71860308 (whatsapp). His interests are in advisory and consultancy in both the private & public sectors.