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JIMINY SELF-HELP HANDBOOK 4

 Literacy skills;
 Multilingual competence;
 Mathematical competence and competence in science, technology and engineering;
 Digital competence;
 Personal and social competence;
 Civic competence;
 Entrepreneurship competence;
 Cultural awareness and expression.

The competence 'sense of initiative and entrepreneurship' is one of the key competences in the
Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on key competences for lifelong
learning (2006). According to the European Union, the competence of initiative and entrepreneurship
can be defined as the ability of an individual to put ideas into practice. These competences can be
further defined by: creativity, innovation and the ability to take risks, as well as the ability to plan and
implement various projects in pursuit of their objectives.

It is worth noting that the European Union attaches great importance to the development
of entrepreneurial competence, as evidenced by the fact that many EU documents and programmes
have been created, where this competence has been reflected. Under the Education and Training 2020
programme, the framework for European cooperation in education and training is set to 4 strategic
objectives. One of these is precisely the enhancement of creativity and innovation (including
entrepreneurship) and this is intended to apply to all levels of education and training. This is because
the positive impact of education in this area on society is noted. More and more companies are being
established, innovative undertakings are being undertaken, and as a result new jobs are being created.

The necessary knowledge of this competence is the recognition of different opportunities
to undertake private, professional or commercial activities, as well as knowledge of economic
mechanisms, opportunities and problems that an entrepreneur may face.

Skills within this competence are related to active project management (where the following skills are
required: planning, organising, directing, guiding, delegating, analysing, communicating, conducting
discussions, evaluating and reporting), and the ability to work independently as well as in a team.
Another important skill is the ability to assess the risk and profitability of taking it, to identify strengths
and weaknesses.

As far as attitudes are concerned, the feeling of entrepreneurship is characterised by e.g. initiative,
activity, motivation, following goals, independence and innovation.

Validation and Its Importance
The European Parliament and the Council adopted in 2008 a Recommendation on the establishment
of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning. A very important addition to this
document was the 2009 Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the
establishment of a European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training. These documents
recommend the introduction of a process of validation of learning outcomes. It is defined as “the
process of attesting that certain assessed learning outcomes achieved by a learner correspond
to specific outcomes required for a given set of learning outcomes or qualifications.”