Jonathan PotterOECD

Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development

Informal training• The role of informal training is

under-recognised (SME participation about half the rate of formal training)

• It responds to barriers with formal training (finding providers, aligning training with business needs etc.)

• SMEs report better outcomes from informal training

• Policy should recognise informal skills development through qualifications

• Firms should build skills development more deliberately into their business interactions

OECD Report – Skills Development and Training in SMEs

Co-workers Suppliers Clients0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Frequency of use of informal training sources by SMEs

For high skilled workers For low skilled workers

Per c

ent o

f SM

Es

Source: OECD Training in SMEs Survey 2011-12 in Belgium, Canada, UK, Nez Zealand, Poland and Turkey, see OECD( 2013) Skills Development and Training in SMEs

The learning organisation• Learning organisations give

employees discretion (planning tasks, monitoring quality, performance pay etc.)

• The share of learning organisation SMEs varies by country – from around 20% (Hungary, Slovakia) to 70% (Finland, Sweden)

• Learning organisation SMEs deliver more innovation; they better exploit employees skills and knowledge exchange for innovation

• Policies can promote organisational change through competitive grants to SMEs or SME networks

OECD Report – Skills and Learning Strategies for Innovation in SMEs

Source: OECD (forthcoming) Skills and Learning Strategies for Innovation in SMEs

BE

BGCZ

DK

DE

EEIE

GRESFR

HR

IT

CYLV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

TR

2030

4050

6070

%Le

arni

ng o

rgan

isat

ions

0 20 40 60% Product and/or process innovators

R-squared = .27

% Leaning organisations by % Product and/or Process Innovators

The entrepreneurial school/university• Action-based teaching methods are

best suited for entrepreneurship• Business plan writing is common,

but students value more prototype development, visits to companies, and business idea generation

• Improving entrepreneurship teaching in schools and HEIs requires teacher training, teaching resources, and top-level support

• OECD/EC provide on-line guidance for schools (Entrepreneurship 360) and universities (HEInnovate)

OECD/EC web tools – HEInnovate and Entrepreneurship360

Source: OECD HEInnovate HEI leader surveys, 2012-14 in Germany, Bulgaria and Poland (number of HEIs = 20 Bulgaria, 23 Poland, 41 Germany).

Prototype development

Use of social media

Self-learning exercises using multimedia

Experience reports by start-ups

Visits to companies

Business Model Canvas exercises

Case studies

Business idea generation activities

Business games and simulations

Problem-based learning

Entrepreneurs as guest speakers in classes

Business plan writing

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Share of HEIs using the following entrepreneurship teaching methods