Outcomes reported by students who participated in the 1994 Shell Technology Enterprise Programme

Abstract

Policy-makers have supported initiatives that enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They have also encouraged more students to seek jobs in SMEs. This study assessed the contribution of the 1994 Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP), which subsidized the employment of students in SMEs in the UK. A key issue is whether STEP students participating in the programme reported significantly superior benefits than students who had never participated in the programme (i.e. non-STEP students). Outcomes associated with the programme were assessed over a 36-month period between 1994 and 1997. The programme had no significant impact on the ability students to have obtained full-time jobs. Similarly, the programme was not found to be significantly associated with the ability of graduates to have obtained full-time jobs in small private firms. Both STEP and non-STEP students reported in 1997 less positive attitudes towards self-employment or starting their own business. However, STEP students expressed a significantly more positive attitude than non-STEP students towards self-employment or starting their own business. Conclusions and implications for policy-makers and practitioners are detailed

Entrepreneurial Progress: Climbing the Entrepreneurial Ladder in Europe and the United States

“…3. There is the risk of a selection effect because students who choose to follow an entrepreneurship major may already be interested in entrepreneurship, or have decided to start a business prior to following an entrepreneurship programme (WESTHEAD et al, 2001). In addition, many studies only investigate one school and cannot to generalize the results to other educational institutions.…”

Enterprise Education: The Role of Head Teachers

“…According to Rouse (2004), however, the method for controlling for non-response bias employed in this study did not eliminate this. Westhead, Storey and Martin (2001) completed a longitudinal study of the well established Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP), targeted at undergraduates, which indicated some benefits for both students and target small companies, but with greater impacts on participant companies (Westhead, Storey and Martin 2001).…”

Assessing the impact of the “Entrepreneurs” education programme on participants’ entrepreneurial intentions

“…Several recommendations were followed when designing this training evaluation (Storey, 1999;Westhead et al, 2001). First, a representative sample of participants should be used.…”

“…Moreover, those who became entrepreneurs rated certain aspects of their education less satisfactorily, such as practical orientation, work experience provided and achievement of the necessary conditions to facilitate their access to the labour market. Therefore, it is proposed that: Some researchers propose that matched control groups need to be incorporated into the evaluation of education programmes (Storey, 1999;Westhead, Storey, & Martin, 2001). In this research, the students who volunteered for the control group were undertaking an elective subject in Entrepreneurship within the Business Administration degree.…”