engleski

Entrepreneurial competence as an outcome of higher education

It has been established that the absence of harmonization of the education system with the labor market, in terms of exit competencies, generates overall and structural unemployment. Accompanying Croatia’s accession to the European Union, efforts are undertaken to endorse entrepreneurial competence as the key for promoting economic growth and fostering competitiveness. Entrepreneurial competence does not only support the growth of new businesses, but also encourages entrepreneurial mindset and a more efficient use of creative potential, as well as existing knowledge and skills. As a consequence, there is an increasing interest in the development of educational programs which encourage and foster entrepreneurial competence. In order to assess the significance of entrepreneurial competence as an outcome of higher education, and specify the factors which determine its acquisition, an empirical research by means of a questionnaire and a standardized test was carried out with a sample of 324 students of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek. Descriptive, univariate statistics, a bivariate analysis, as well as a multivariate data analysis were put into use as analysis tools. The results indicate that higher levels of entrepreneurial competence increase the propensity towards entrepreneurial behavior, as well as the probability of starting own business. According to the results of this research, students with experience in non-formal education, as well as those who come from entrepreneurial families demonstrate higher levels of entrepreneurial competence. The research found that teaching at higher education institutions does not contribute significantly to the development of entrepreneurial competence, and that learning from experience has a significant role in fostering entrepreneurial competence. This paper compliments the solutions to the problem of growing unemployment in the national economies by highlighting the need for changes in the educational activities, i.e. defining entrepreneurial competence as an outcome of higher education, and thus contributing to achieving sustainable economic development.

entrepreneurial competence ; competiveness ; unemployment ; higher education ;

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