EU promotes classroom ‘entrepreneurship’

Europe’s children need entrepreneurship lessons to help the EU compete in the world economy, the European commission said on Monday.

Plans to promote an “entrepreneurial mindset” were unveiled by European commission vice-president, Günter Verheugen and education commissioner, Jan Figel on Monday.

“We need to create a more favourable societal climate for entrepreneurship, in particular to encourage young Europeans to become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow,” Verheugen said.

The German commissioner hailed primary schools in Luxembourg for distributing cartoons on how to start a business.

“This is about changing attitudes,” he declared.

The EU executive’s communication also urges secondary schools to set up mini-companies in a bid to inculcate pupils with “entrepreneurial spirit.”

Verheugen pointed to figures suggesting a fifth of participants in school mini-company activities go on to create their own company.

The scheme forms part of Brussels plans to meet targets set out in the re-launched Lisbon strategy to increase economic growth and employment.

“The first priority of Lisbon strategy…is to leverage knowledge and innovation for growth,” a commission statement says.

And officials know that EU levels of research and innovation must rise to mounting global challenges.

If present trends continue, Chinese expenditure on R&D will have caught up with the EU by 2010.

“Coherent entrepreneurship education initiatives are still too few,” Figel worried on Monday. 

“However, good practice can be found in Europe. The challenge lies in spreading further the existing positive examples,” he added. 

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