The Entrepreneurial Skills Pass www.entrepreneurialskillspass.org

The Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) is a new international qualification that certifies students

(aged 15-19), who have had a real entrepreneurship experience, have gained the

necessary knowledge, skills and competences to start a business or to be successfully

employed.

Accordingly to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning1, within ESP,

“qualification” means a formal outcome of an assessment and validation process which is

obtained when a competent body determines that an individual has achieved learning

outcomes to given standards.

1 European Commission, European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning, 2008.

This is the reason why ESP consists of three key elements:

A real entrepreneurial experience that takes place

in school during the year and which includes

mentoring from experienced business people and

through competitions. Working in groups and under

the guidance of teachers and business volunteers,

students have the opportunity to set up and

manage a mini-company.

As part of this programme, they develop the ability

to generate ideas and turn them into action; they

learn how to work in a team, take initiative and

accept responsibility; they experience what it

means to manage a real enterprise; they

understand how economics and finance

contribute to the project’s success; they apply

math, science, language, writing, technological or

specialized skills in a practical way.

A self-assessment tool where students involved in

the entrepreneurial experience reflect on their own

entrepreneurial competences as they progress

through the year. Sense of initiative and

entrepreneurship2 is the key competence

addressed with a particular focus on creativity,

perseverance, resourcefulness, self-confidence,

taking initiative, taking responsibility, teamwork.

An online examination to certify the business,

economics and finance knowledge students have

gained as a result of this experience. The ESP is

designed to be a PASS to further opportunities

recognized by small and large businesses, top

higher education institutions and international

organisations across Europe. The ESP platform will

be a place where young people can go to find

further opportunities to pursue their business ideas,

their career development, or training and

education possibilities.

2 As defined in the Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18

December 2006 on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning [Official Journal L 394 of 30.12.2006].

The Entrepreneurial Skills Pass Network www.entrepreneurialskillspass.org

While thousands of young people take part in mini-companies and entrepreneurial

programmes each year and they may receive a certificate of participation locally, there

has to date never been a European certification that explicitly promotes the particular kind

of entrepreneurial knowledge, competences and skills these students have acquired. The

“Entrepreneurial Skills Pass” is attempting to reach international recognition.

Participating countries

Albania

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Rep.

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Malta

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Unit. Kingdom

Beyond serving as a tool to assess impact and effectiveness of this kind of education across

multiple countries, an “Entrepreneurial Skills Pass is attractive to potential employers who are

looking for successful candidates and it would help encourage more young people to

choose entrepreneurship education opportunities at school influencing their future choices.

“The Junior Achievement experience is a concentrate of entrepreneurial candy: once you start,

you can’t stop. I got the opportunity to test myself in a risk-free environment. I learnt how easier it is

to sell when you have a great product, how talent will attract talent and how you only actually

become a leader if you manage to inspire your team. Without any doubt, it was the most defining

program have had the chance to participate in. Whenever I meet a teenager who wonders what

to do in his life, I tell him he should be part of a young enterprise. It might not provide all the answers

but it opens your mind to lots of new options. This experience had a huge influence on the course

of my life. It confirmed my desire to follow business studies at university and it drove me to quit my

first job to start 3 start-ups. In a word it gave me the entrepreneurship bug”.

Sébastien Deletaille, now 30, Junior Achievement Alumnus from Belgium.

European Partners

Corporate Partners

Do you want to know more about ESP?

Visit our website: www.entrepreneurialskillspass.org

Sign up to our e-Brief: www.entrepreneurialskillspass.eu/e-brief

Follow JA-YE Europe on the social networks:

Offering young people a PASS to further opportunities

www.entrepreneurialskillspass.org

The Entrepreneurial Skills Pass is part of the European

Business Campaign on Skills for Jobs, an initiative

promoted by CSR Europe and JA-YE Europe

convening companies to provide an answer to

business risks related to skills and employability such as

an ageing workforce, a growing skills gap and

stagnating socio-economic development.

Employers and educators alike back the ESP as a

competitive advantage for young people pursuing

further education, entering the world of work or

starting a venture on their own.

ESP is a PASS to further opportunities:

ESP students gain key employability skills and have access to further opportunities offered

by companies and institutions endorsing the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass. The objective is to

facilitate the transition from education to employment by providing students with

good quality, tailored and personalized solutions.