Education for Enterprise

Information technology presents considerable challenges and opportunities to society. Ireland, as a member of the European Union with a small, open economy which is highly influenced by international trends, has a particular interest in this new phenomenon. The manner in which the country meets the challenge of information technology will largely shape its economic and social future into the next century. Details the specific needs of the information age. Analyses the implications of the information era for Ireland's educational facilities, and discusses how the different branches of education are responding. Examines innovation and creativity, and how education, training and other aspects of Ireland's economy are impinging on these prerequisites for success. Investigates the level of flexibility in Irish attitudes, work practices and systems. Outlines the critical requirements of "learning for change" implicit in this new era, and discusses how Ireland's training systems and approaches are placed to meet those needs. Concludes that Ireland needs to adapt its education and training facilities so that it masters, and fully benefits from, the new era.

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Rural women entrepreneurship within co‐operatives: training support

Petridou

Glaveli

2008

Gender in Management: An International Journal

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to appraise rural women entrepreneurs, running co‐operatives in Greece. The paper seeks to examine the effects of training support on their entrepreneurial skills and attitudes, co‐operatives' viability and growth prospects, and work‐family balance.Design/methodology/approachAn evaluation research was conducted in which 104 rural women members of co‐operatives, who had participated in a specific training program contributed. Anonymous questionnaires were used to collect data on participants' perceptions of the effects of the training intervention. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and intercorellations were employed in analysing the data.FindingsThe data illustrate that participants perceived benefits in terms of skill improvements, i.e. identification and capturing of business opportunities, effective co‐operation and flexibility in decision making and more positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship. In addition, perceptions related to the development and growth prospects of the co‐operative and to work‐family balance have also been positively affected.Practical implicationsThe effectiveness of an entrepreneurship program can be enhanced when it is designed to meet the real needs of the organization and thus is more focused. Training needs analysis prior to intervention is a prerequisite. Moreover, achieving work‐family balance can also be seen as an aspect of a co‐operative's performance that can be improved through training.Originality/valueThis paper enriches research on the effect of entrepreneurship training programs for rural women co‐operative members.

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Education for Enterprise

Cited by 8 publications

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Mini‐Enterprise in Schools: The Pupils’ Experience

Mini‐Enterprise in Schools: The Pupils’ Experience

The information age: implications for education and training in a small economy

Rural women entrepreneurship within co‐operatives: training support

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