Creation of new opportunities on labour market (example, work at home; A more efficient management of enterprises, especially of small and medium sized enterprises,
and students all over the world or to increase the degree of specialization of employees at companies'level by developing programs of E training
Both for companies and employees broadband communications are meant to reduce the importance of localizing by allowing the establishment of offices in small,
and institutions intend to purchase a broadband connection at high speed transfer, this intention belonging to small companies for a value of 16-17%and at a smaller value than 9%for big companies with more than 50 employees.
education and security (preconditions-the degree of digital alphabetization of the population-%of employees with experience in using computers
Reactions of consumers, industry stakeholders and policy experts will help the Commission to decide whether to submit new proposals for legislation on universal service obligations in the telecommunications sector by the end of 2010.
since they represent about 90%of companies with approximately 60%of employees. Regarding the integration of procurement solutions in the European context,
Legislative proposal establishing a single framework of declarations regarding the nominal amounts due the employees and the general consolidated budget (single desk Law),
53,5 Staff using internet 42,7 43,8 Companies with website 66,6 67,0 Companies using digital signature 28,0 24,4 Employees who received ICT training 13,8 17,4 Net
38 The EU Smart Grids Debate 3 About the Author Ruggero Schleicher--Tappeser is independent consultant for energy policy and renewable energies in Berlin.
he started in 1976 to work as journalist and policy consultant for energy issues in Switzerland.
in Germany. 1989--2004 he was founder and director of the EURES Institute for Regional Studies in Europe, Freiburg i. Br.
ruggero@schleicher--tappeser. eu The EU Smart Grids Debate 4 Executive Summary New information and control technologies (ICT) are about to fundamentally transform the electricity sector after having profoundly changed so many other industries.
which an increasing number of experts are considering not to be the first priority. 12 Also the approach of the Smart Grid Task force of the European commission following the Third Energy Package seems to be restricted much more
four Expert Groups have delivered reports in 2011. While the mission started from a rather narrow focus on metering and directly grid--related services and functions
of economic and social players through structures such as CREA (www. crea. es) and CEPYME (www. cepymearagon. es) on the employers'side.
Vision and challenges Future global vision Meeting with EC's adviser Meeting with stakeholders. Selection of priorities.
PLANIFICACIÓN PARA LA ELABORACIÓN DE UNA ESTRATEGIA DE ESPECIALIZACIÓN INTELIGENTE PARA ASTURIAS 23 Expert Assessment of RIS3 strategy for the region of Asturias, Spain
Estadística sobre actividades en I+D. Expert Assessment of RIS3 strategy for the region of Asturias, Spain Miquel Barceló 3 Evolution of R+D+i in Asturias/Spain
%Employees per sectors in Spain (quarterly average) 2012 (3t) 2011 2010 2009 2008 Total 17.320,3 18.104,6 18.456,5 18.888 20.257,6 Agriculture 720,4 760,2 793,0 786,1
They are the metal sector, the food sector and the extractive industries, energy and Expert Assessment of RIS3 strategy for the region of Asturias, Spain Miquel Barceló 5 water.
Parque Tecnológico de Asturias, Llanera) Expert Assessment of RIS3 strategy for the region of Asturias, Spain Miquel Barceló 8 DATOS BASICOS FUNCIONES ALGUNAS CIFRAS
Información Universidad de Oviedo, ver web http://www. uniovi. es 13:00-18:00 Reunión de trabajo en el IDEPA Expert Assessment
Avanzados Universidad de Oviedo Fundación ITMA INCAR CINN Expert Assessment of RIS3 strategy for the region of Asturias, Spain Miquel Barceló 15 In my opinion, the priorities
PARA LA DIFUSIÓN DE RESULTADOS 7pm Asturias (IDEPA) Cienciatec. org Unidad de Cultura Científica (UCC) Canal UNIOVI2+D Expert Assessment
We have got a european RIS3 specialist consultant (Adrian Healy from Cardiff's University) to supervise the process.
Innovative Society and Security IT Services The next steps We are moving forward in the process with the help of a consultant.
2 1. 3 LABOUR MARKET EVOLUTION...3 2 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: A PRIORITY FOR THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF CASTILLA Y LEÓN...
Background document 3 1. 3 Labour market evolution Due to the important rates of growth of our economy,
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR SMART SPECIALISATION (RIS3) OF CASTILLA Y LEON 2014-2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Research and Innovation S t r a t e g y
SPECIALISATION (RIS3) OF CASTILLA Y LEON 2014-2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 1 A MAIN FACTS & FIGURES OF CASTILLA Y LEÓN 3 Territorial framework
of experts supported by the European Commission2, whose mission was studying the causes of a growing gap in R&d efforts between Europe and the United states and its impact on economic growth.
The number of innovative companies (with more than 10 employees) has been experiencing a downward trend since 2004 at both regional and national levels,
There are large differences in ICT equipment and usage in companies with more than 10 employees and companies with less than 10 employees (micro-enterprises and independent contractors),
In 2012, specifically, only 68%of companies with fewer than 10 employees had compared computers with 71.6%at the national level.
In the case of companies with more than 10 employees these percentages increased to 98%.63.7%of micro-enterprises
This figure rises to 97.1%for companies with more than 10 employees. There has been significant growth in recent years of mobile Internet access in companies,
Working population's educational level higher than the national level. There is awareness in the private sector regarding execution of expenses in R&d with relative significance above awareness in the national population.
High working population's education level. Business expenditure on R&d bigger than the public, and above the national average.
They comprise a diverse range of organisational forms such as employee-owned businesses, credit unions, cooperatives, development trusts, social firms, intermediate labour market organisations,
with workers and users represented and participating in the management of activities democratically oriented Activities require a minimum of paid workers (though may also employ volunteers) Avoid profit maximising behaviour
and have limited a distribution of profit Explicitly aim to benefit the community or a specific group of people Source:
this has been accompanied by new relationships between senior management and the‘shop floor'and with members. In addition these new approaches have resulted often in either de jure
training workers and users and so on. Such processes could be organised around a regional living lab perspective.
Following changes to the national rules on procurement, The french city of Nantes introduced labour market inclusion conditions into its procurement of public works (CEC, 2013a.
Similarly the Catalan Region and Barcelona City33 have applied social clauses in procurement for all its large contracts to integrate groups at risk of exclusion in the labour market.
Public sector innovation is not possible in a context where employees fear for their lot and where their energies are consumed by the dull compulsion of everyday life.
when they give talented employees what they crave above all namely time to indulge their own interests a form of social innovation that is urgently needed in the public sector. 6. 3 Civil society, users and citizens The involvement of civil society,
Social Innovation in the European union Report prepared by the Bureau of European Policy Advisers for the European commission.
Lister, R. 2003b) Investing in the citizen-workers of the future: transformations in citizenship and the state under New Labour, Social policy and Administration, 37 (5): 427-443.
Forinstance, in 1991,24. 2%ofmanufacturing firms initalyhadlessthan10 employees, comparedto13. 3%intheukand7. 8%ingermany (OECD, 1997.
Employees also acquire entrepreneurship skills through interactions with their co-workers, suppliers, clients and consultants on projects such as those to improve quality control methods or products.
These interactions often take place through interactions between SMES and providers of what are known as Knowledge Intensive Service Activities (KISAS).
I would like to thank the delegates, experts and Secretariat members for their contributions. I trust that this publication will provide inspiration to policy makers around the world and,
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 7 Acknowledgements The following experts comprised the Scientific Advisory Group that helped guide preparation of this publication:
Netherlands Karen Wilson, Senior Fellow at Kauffman Foundation and Director GV Partners, France Assistance in developing the Country Notes was provided by the following experts:
148 SMES, Entrepreneurship and Innovation OECD 2010 15 Executive Summary Innovation is one of the most fundamental processes underpinning economic growth, the driver of growth in output per unit of labour
The data also show substantial EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SMES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 17 shares of total activity accounted for by each of the sub-categories of micro,
i e. those where R&d intensity, basic university research and highly-skilled workers are most important. This is associated with important local knowledge spillovers in these sectors.
As well as gaps in external provision of entrepreneurship training, in-house training of employees by SMES is much less common than for large firms.
enterprises with less than 50 employees provide significantly less employee training than larger firms. This is even true for countries known for their strong training cultures
younger, better-educated workers in highly-skilled occupations such as managers, professionals and technicians have greater access to training opportunities than less educated routine
(i e. involved in routine tasks) and older workers. One of the problems is provided that externally entrepreneurship training approaches for managers
and workers are geared not sufficiently to the how to nature of competences that firms require.
nevertheless provide a significant boost to the entrepreneurship skills of SME employees. This involves SMES bringing in outside firms
and consultants to help them implement change, for example in quality control, marketing or product development. Experts may be called on in a range of areas,
such as in research and development, legal, information technology, marketing and other knowledge-intensive activities. Their advice and joint work with SME workforces upgrades skills, increasing the ability of SMES to develop,
employers, industry representatives, unions, labour market and training intermediaries (temporary work agencies and group training companies), local and regional government agencies,
The key characteristic of social EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SMES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 19 entrepreneurship is that it aims to provide innovative solutions to unsolved social problems through some form of business.
and implementing new labour market integration processes, new competencies, new jobs, and new forms of participation,
collaborative research opportunities, services for knowledge transfer (e g. innovation brokers, labour mobility schemes, programmes for the commercialisation of university research),
Promote local labour mobility such as through university-industry staff exchange programmes. Use the concept of related variety to guide policy.
and supporting SMES in EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SMES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 21 their efforts to upgrade their R&d,
and making diaspora populations aware of local job vacancies. Learning processes are at the core of entrepreneurship and SME innovation.
These skills are also critical to innovation by employees in existing SMES. The following recommendations are offered:
and consultants providing knowledge-intensive service activities (KISA), for example using innovation vouchers for SMES. Strengthen local skills ecosystems.
Promote greater participation of SMES in local training programmes through the engagement of employers, unions and individuals.
and seed funding programmes for individuals in EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SMES, E 22 NTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 the early phases of social entrepreneurship projects.
OECD figures for eleven OECD countries suggest for example that high-growth enterprises account for between only 2 and 8 per cent of all enterprises with 10 or more employees,
External ideas for innovation can come from many places from collaborations with universities and other firms or business angels, from labour mobility among firms and organisations and from informal social capital contacts.
For example, for SMES, the use of knowledge-intensive service activities offered by consultants and other firms often brings new non-technological ideas into the firm with respect to business practices,
and a central role of unions and employers in regulating the economy and society in partnership with government.
The social contract included regulation of labour markets and a strong welfare state. The reduced power of large firms and unions,
and labour market flexibility increased the strain upon it. Social entrepreneurs and social enterprises such as nonprofit organisations have stepped into this breach (OECD, 2003;
i e. comparing innovation rates per employee not per firm (Audretsch, 1995). On the other hand, there is a strong suggestion that SMES are associated particularly with bringing forward so-called breakthrough innovations.
using and interacting occurs on the job as employees face ongoing changes that confront them with new problems
labour market regulation, finance markets and intellectual property protection. OECD research shows for example how unbalanced taxes on company profits
but also through informal methods such as the creation of problem-solving work teams and engagement with external knowledge intensive service activity providers such as consultants (OECD, 2010a, forthcoming).
and there is a particular SME skills gap among older and routine workers. These problems need to be addressed.
are enterprises with average annualised growth in employees greater than 20%a year over a three year period and with ten or more employees at the beginning of the observation period.
which have been employers for a period of up to five years, with average annualised growth in employees greater than 20%a year over a three-year period and with ten or more employees at the beginning of the period. 2. See also NESTA (2009). 3. The OECD/Eurostat Entrepreneurship
Indicator Programme is developing internationallycomparable indicators of entrepreneurship based on this definition. Bibliography Acs, Z. and D. Audretsch (1990), Innovation and Small Firms, MIT Press, Cambridge MA.
Haltiwanger, J. 1999), Job creation and Destruction by Employer Size and Age: Cyclical Dynamics, in Z. Acs, B. Carlsson and C. Karlsson (eds.
Information was collected by national experts and delegates to the OECD Working Party on SMES and Entrepreneurship and OECD Local Economic and Employment Development Committee.
number of persons engaged/number of employees. The dataset follows the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Rev. 3 for the classification of economic activities (see Annex 2. A1.
Also, innovation surveys typically cover firms with more than 20 employees, and therefore exclude micro enterprises.
to provide a referral service linking firms to experts within industries. 2. AUSTRALIA SMES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 49 Australia Notes:
20 30 40 50%Lack of access to additional funds Lack of skilled persons within business or labour market Lack of access to knowledge or technology Uncertain demand for new
facilitating access to external experts; and providing physical office space. Nine centres have been selected in two competitive tenders.
including with international experts. The budget for the whole intended programme life cycle amounts to EUR 77 million,
30 40 50%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
Firms within the group Government or public research institutes Consultants, commercial labs. or private institutes Lack of qualified personnel Difficulty in finding co-operation partners for innovation Lack of funds within enterprise or enterprise group Uncertain demand
60%50 Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
as well as in an increase of the qualifications of the employees taking part in the innovation processes of the beneficiary companies and public institutions.
40 50%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
The funding is concentrated heavily on R&d in small businesses and covers more than one-third of R&d in businesses with less than 50 employees,
but less than 3%of R&d in businesses with more than 500 employees. Tekes directed approximately 26%of the total funding for businesses to the smallest enterprises employing less than ten employees, approximately EUR 75 million in 2008.
An additional EUR 10-15 million was directed towards SMES through projects in large businesses, which increases the SMES'share by 5-8%.The Ministry of Employment
which has been in operation for less than six years and with less than 50 employees, and willing to seek
The public sector provides incentives for experts, such as serial entrepreneurs, to become mentors and active developers in new ventures.
Such experts are positioned well to offer high-quality advice and contacts for start-ups to accelerate their growth and internationalisation,
or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants, commercial labs. or private institutes Government or public research institutes 0 0. 5 1. 0 1. 5 2. 0 2. 5 2003 2008 Finland
60 80%SMES Large Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
The first, Culture of Entrepreneurship, aims at promoting entrepreneurship among university employees and students. Projects at universities and non-university research institutes can apply for financial support in the form of a non-repayable grant over a three-year period.
30%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
40 50 60%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
50 60%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Medium Large Small Consultants,
Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Consultants, commercial labs. or private institutes Government or public research institutes 0 0. 5 1. 0 1. 5 2. 0 2. 5 2003 2008 Iceland
40 50%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants, commercial labs. or private institutes Government or public research institutes 0 0. 5 1. 0 1. 5 2. 0 2. 5 3. 0 2003
Funding recipients should have less than 300 employees or capital below JPY 300 million. The majority of schemes target venture companies and SMES.
30 40%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
40 50 60%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
Examples include involving young scientists, technicians and engineers in research and development projects, engaging experts in R&d and commercialisation projects,
reworking employee structures, to incorporate design-led positions and integration between functional teams; and developing new branding and communication strategies.
design consultants and mentors, and external costs associated with prototyping. 2. NEW ZEALAND SMES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 87 New zealand A. Structural indicators on enterprise population, 2008 Number of enterprises Number
of employees Industry Services Total Industry Services Total%%%Micro 67 447 91.0 229 204 94.1 93.3 799 84 19.6 180 850
%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
40 50 60%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
30 40%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
50 60%Universities or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
new employees have been recruited in 76%of the projects (of these, 79%are employees with at least a master's degree in engineering);
over 90%are planning the market introduction of a new product developed in the project;
Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Large Medium Small Small Medium Large Consultants,
In contrast, non-labelled firms are performing better than label firms with respect to product characteristics, customer orientation, competitive position, employee satisfaction,
Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants, commercial labs. or private institutes Government or public research institutes 0 0. 5 1. 0 1. 5 2. 0 3. 0 2. 5 2003
activities 0 10 20 30 40%Universities or HEI Firms within the group Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Small Medium Large SME Large Consultants,
Like the previous programme, TIP also subjects funding proposals to rigorous vetting by both technical and business experts,
and cost sharing. 2. UNITED STATES SMES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 107 United states A. Structural indicators on enterprise population Number of enterprises, 2005 Number of employees, 2004
employing over 5. 2 million employees. The industrial value added generated in these development zones accounted for 8. 95%of the total value added of the whole country.
from least to most restrictive A. Breakdown of value added by firm size class, 2003 Size class of employees C. Administrative burdens on start-ups, 2008 Index scale of 0
or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants, commercial labs. or private institutes Government or public research institutes 0 5 10 15 20 25 30%Lack of qualified personnel Lack of funds within enterprise or enterprise
The Foundation has invited about 4 000 Russian scientists in various spheres to work as experts.
AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 123 Russian Federation A. Definition of SMES Size Employees Annual turnover Micro 1-15 Up to 1. 7 million euro
. Growth in the number of employees in SMES, 2001-2007 Thousands of people D. Barriers to entrepreneurship, 2008 Index scale of 0-6 from least to most restrictive E. Administrative
these focus on improvement of research experts in the business sector. Besides the traditional programmes to support young researchers and young researchers from the business sector, the Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments (PAEFI) has two main programmes:
or HEI Suppliers Clients or customers Competitors Firms within the group Small Medium Large Small Medium Large Consultants,
compulsory social security M. Education N. Health and social work O. Other community, social and personal service activities P. Private households with employed persons (ISIC Rev
In Table A, for Number of enterprises and Number of employees, Industry includes ISIC Rev. 3 categories C, D, E,
and F. Services includes ISIC Rev. 3 categories G h i and K. For number of employees,
and attraction of overseas skilled workers are three of the main channels through which global knowledge flows can revitalise local innovation systems. 3. KNOWLEDGE FLOWS SMES,
As to external constraints the second strand of the literature heavy labour market regulations and market entry requirements are deemed traditionally to discourage entrepreneurship,
good quality of infrastructure and other facilities, proximity to natural resources that are key to the production process, a better match between employers and employees or buyers and suppliers, etc.
basic university research and highly-skilled workers are most important. For example, in the United states, knowledge-driven industries such as semiconductors, process
The establishment of spin-off enterprises from multinational companies and the normal flows of workers and managers between companies within the local labour market are some of the clearest examples of passive knowledge transfers.
The attraction of foreign skilled workers Renowned examples of attractive local economies, such as Silicon valley and Austin in the United states or Dublin in Europe, are witness to the importance of attracting foreign highskilled workers to stimulate entrepreneurship.
For receiving places, the inflow of foreign talent has positive effects on the number of skilled workers
A number of factors affect the ability of a locality to attract a skilled labour force.
or skilled workers of the foreign affiliate to set out their own business. As to university spin-offs, the gap between technological invention and commercial innovation should be bridged through proof-of-concept support for testing the technical and commercial viability of early-stage innovative ideas,
and links to external experts (see Austria's Country Note). Interactive learning networks boost SME innovation and need to be stimulated.
and linkages to more technologically advanced firms or business experts (see Australia's Country Note).
Labour mobility accelerates knowledge flows within an innovation system. More generally, labour mobility within an innovation system should be promoted as a tool enabling local knowledge flows and spillovers via the transfer of skills and experience,
although marked inter-firm labour mobility can deter private investments in training, especially in SMES. University-industry staff exchange programmes should also be considered,
although rigid university employment practices and the very university incentive structure (e g. the pressure to publish on peer review journals) can render this specific type of labour mobility difficult.
Promote cross-fertilising technologies with multiple industrial applications. Considering that every technology implies several possible entrepreneurial opportunities
A third way of triggering global knowledge connections is to promote the attraction and exchange of highly-skilled foreign labour.
which means that micro firms with less than ten employees may be excluded largely from this database. The value of the ORBIS database for territorial analysis rests on the possibility to rearrange firm-level data according to detailed company location.
turnover per employee; growth rates according to turnover, value added or employment; productivity growth. Profitability indicators, e g. profit margin;
turnover, employees, value added) by classification variables (economic activity, firm size and location. Such a deviation potentially generates biased economic indicators.
Also in the case of workers in existing SMES data confirm the existence of a skills and training problem holding back innovation.
Across OECD countries, employees of SMES participate in formal training activities to only half the extent that staff in large firms do (OECD, 2010b, forthcoming.
Even informal competencebuilding measures have little take-up among low-skilled SME workers. In the future there will be a need for new types of skills matching new types of jobs,
vocational education and schools) and in work environments (focusing on informal entrepreneurship learning at work through the involvement of workers in knowledge-intensive service activities
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION OECD 2010 171 Vocational education and training Vocational education and training (VET) is a type of task-oriented technical education widely used to prepare future self-employed entrepreneurs and SME employees.
where the trainee is based mainly with an employer. Apprenticeship programmes are widespread, with countries like Denmark, Australia,
All firms (apart from those employing apprentices) pay this apprenticeship tax (Stone and Braidford, 2008.
escalating from about 120 000 apprentices in 1995 to over 400 000 by 2003. The numbers in Australian Apprenticeships represent 3. 5%of the working population
one of the highest rates of contracted training in the developed world. One reason for the success of these programmes is financial incentive from federal and state governments.
These incentives bring employer commitment to the system; they also create and fund intermediary bodies such as Group Training Organisations and New Apprenticeship Centres,
Traditional apprenticeship programmes aim to train skilled employees and do not explicitly train entrepreneurship skills,
Schemes such as training leaves are taken not fully up by employees. Participation in voucher-type schemes is high among employees,
but on average only 50%of the amount of finance available for training is used and there is a low participation from micro and small enterprises and from unskilled, semiskilled and older employees.
Training packages and apprenticeship schemes have been very successful in some countries as employers use the national qualification system to upgrade the skills of their workforces.
However, in general, voluntary policies have had greater success than compulsory measures (OECD, 2010a, forthcoming. It is clear that incentives for training are needed often to engage small businesses owners and self-employed people.
policy measures should target both workers and enterprises, not providing financial incentives alone but also allowing freedom of choice and market transparency;
In addition, there should be transparency and clarity of objectives and information to both employers and employees and provision of standardised accreditation.
understand the roles, rights and responsibilities of individuals as employees, managers, employers, entrepreneurs, investors, customers and global citizens;
Examples are regular programmes to train new employees or potential team leaders and project management and foreign language language training (Markowitsch and Hefler, 2007).
Across the EU-15 countries, data from the Eurostat Continuing vocational training Survey show that employees in enterprises with less than 50 employees receive significantly less in-company training than employees in larger firms.
In terms of annual volume of hours spent by employees in training, the average in firms with less than 50 employees is about half that of large firms with 1 000 employees and more,
and about two-thirds of the average of all firms. In some countries a relatively high proportion of small firms with between 10 and 49 employees provide some formal training for their employees:
Denmark (48%),Finland (38%),The netherlands (36%),Sweden (51%)and the United kingdom (35), %but even here the participation rates are much smaller than for larger firms (Denmark 56%,Finland 62%,The netherlands 42%,Sweden 68%,United kingdom 52%).
%The participation rate in these countries for large firms of at least 1 000 employees is much higher (Greece 33%,Hungary 26%,Italy 52%,Poland 46%,Portugal 43%,Spain 46
younger, better educated workers in high-skilled occupations (such as managers, professionals and technicians) have greater access to training opportunities than less-educated older workers
and workers involved in routine tasks (OECD, 2003; 2008a). ) One of the reasons that SMES undertake less formal training than large firms is cost.
The result is that employees of small and micro firms can miss out on any type of training beyond day-to-day informal learning on the job.
Such an emphasis on employee-driven learning and trial-and-error behaviour can obviously be detrimental to both the firm and the employee. 4. ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS SMES
This provides an opportunity for employees to learn from others in different companies. In addition to enhancing SMES'efficiency, innovative potential and growth prospects,
undertaken in collaborations between SME employees and external professionals or in SME employee work groups (OECD, 2006;
KISA projects can be undertaken by SMES with outsiders such as business consultants, clients and suppliers in the firm's network and/or value-chain,
and work with its employees in pursuit of new or improved solutions to current needs of the firm at the same time increasing the skills, knowledge and competencies of employees in significant ways.
This results in co-production of knowledge by the different workers involved, constituting a critical nexus of today's networking economy.
for example to improve work processes (such as quality control, marketing and product development) with SME employees learning from or together with their co-workers.
Until now the attention of policy makers has tended to be on the contribution of knowledge workers to entrepreneurship and innovation.
routine workers can also make an important contribution to transforming SME activities to a context of increased knowledge intensity and innovation activity.
Innovative firms are moving towards recognising the important contribution that routine workers can make both in innovative outputs and in skills acquisition for the firm.
For example, Advance Metal Products (an Australian SME specialised in metal work and machinery) involves floor workers with engineers in activities oriented to find new uses for old machinery.
such skills constitute a competitive advantage for these routine workers in the labour market. Working with engineers also helps routine employees to further analyse their own activities
and how they can better be performed (Martinez-Fernandez, Receretnam and Sharpe, 2007). These types of KISA that act as a specialised service for the firm
and by employees usually classified as working in lowknowledge intensity tasks. KISAS are still a relatively unexplored area
These activities are performed largely in-house with external actors such as business consultants or other professionals from the SME's network and/or its value chain.
and impact on skills upgrading and employability of the labour force. Entrepreneurship policies should pay more attention to this way of developing entrepreneurship skills,
One of the reasons is the opportunity that on-the-job training gave to novice entrepreneurs to discuss work problems and test out solutions with real entrepreneurs and experts.
external to the firm, provided for owners and managers of independent enterprises with 250 employees or fewer,
or external consultants that work with the business owner or managers to think about processes, business models or solutions to specific problems.
employers, industry representatives, unions, labour market and training intermediaries (temporary work agencies and group training companies), local and regional government agencies,
Although training can in principle be provided by experts from other countries or regions, it tends to be seen as a local resource by both enterprises and employees.
This, and the positive effects of local networks and connectivity in achieving the vitality of local economies,
and entrepreneurship development training programmes for owners, managers and consultants in business planning, financial services, ICT and marketing.
Adult learning and links with the labour market. Regional development, including capacity building for Business Support Providers (BSPS) and SME development agency staff.
Target both workers and enterprises; limit administrative burdens; increase transparency and clarity of objectives and information to employers and employees;
give standardised accreditation. Embed an entrepreneurship mindset through the school education system. Develop the training function of small business support programmes including programmes for business succession,
and other approaches to support the integration of new employees and the development of potential team leaders;
Promote greater participation of SMES in local training programmes through the engagement of employers, unions and individuals,
I. and P. Braidford (2008), Engaging Employers in Continuing Training: An International Review of Policies and Initiatives, Research Report 30 march, UK Sector Skills Development Agency, United kingdom. Tether, B.,A. Mina, D. Consoli and D
there are 15 000 social enterprises employing 350 000 employees, serving 5 million users and with an economic turnover of EUR 10 billion.
The main conclusion to be drawn is that the social economy in Europe is very important in both human and economic terms, over 11 million paid employees,
equivalent to about 6%of the working population of the EU. These aggregates underline the fact that this is a reality
A nursery centre project run jointly with a consortium of social cooperatives that would train the childcare workers,
Moreover the cooperative aims at employing local disadvantaged workers, thus contributing to the local employment of individuals from groups who may find it difficult to get jobs.
Another priority is to employ disadvantaged workers in service delivery areas. Financially supported by local credit cooperatives
One that can readily be seen is the capacity-building opportunities offered to healthcare workers and scientists,
It builds capacity by training healthcare workers and scientists in clinical drug development, which in turn stimulates new avenues of economic development.
and help with career planning and job applications, the project offers information, advice, and guidance services free of charge to all (students and non-students alike).
and muscular-skeletal disorders among its workers through regular physical activity exercises in the workplace.
identifying and implementing new labour market integration processes, new competencies, new jobs, and new forms of participation,
charter schools, community-centred planning, emissions trading, fair trade, habitat conservation, international labour standards, socially responsible investing, supported employment (for disabled and disadvantaged workers) and individual
Programme workers also maintain close personal contact with clients to provide counselling and encouragement. The programme sponsor is responsible for recruiting participants
and pay between 5%and 20%of salaries in the Palmas currency to those employees who live in the neighbourhood.
The meeting gathered a number of experts and social innovators and concrete examples of existing social innovations were discussed.
identifying and implementing new labour market integration processes, new competencies, new jobs, and new forms of participation,
and consultants providing knowledge-intensive services activities, such as through innovation voucher programmes for SMES. Strengthen the contribution of local skills ecosystems to entrepreneurship and SME development through greater engagement of employers,
unions and individuals involved in new and small firms with local training programmes and development of integrated training strategies combining training in higher education,
People climate Societal factors other than mere economic opportunities able to influence the decision of skilled workers about where to live and work.
include industry, universities, colleges, employment agencies, unions and training organisations/associations, and are supported by integrated policy approaches to skills development.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) Non-subsidiary, independent firms which employ less than a given number of employees.
The most frequent upper limit designating an SME is 250 employees, as in the European union. However, some countries set the limit at 200 employees,
while the United states considers SMES to include firms with fewer than 500 employees. Small firms are considered generally those with fewer than 50 employees
and micro firms have at most 10 employees. Financial information on turnover or balance sheets can also be used to define SMES.
Social economy The ensemble of entities that explicitly have both an economic and a social mission.
These can include associations, cooperatives, mutual organisations, foundations and more recently social enterprises. This type of economy is regulated essentially by the stakeholder principle,
and training and integration into employment of persons excluded from the labour market. Social entrepreneur A person who recognises a social problem
Social innovations can, for instance, concern new competencies, jobs and forms of participation in the labour market,
Spin-off A new firm that is created by a former employee of a company (i e. corporate spin-off) or by researchers, teachers or students of a university (i e. university spin-off.
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