Assessing Entrepreneurial Profiles: A Study of Transversal Competence Gaps in Four European Countries

The need to develop entrepreneurial competences in young professionals has been a key priority in the agendas of policy makers and industry leaders for some time. This chapter offers several contributions to address this issue, drawing on the results of an in-depth study addressing the meaning, and the requirements, for entrepreneurial competences across four European contexts (Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland and Portugal). Building on the literature as well as on exploratory data from interviews with employers and young graduates, the chapter starts by identifying and characterizing ten transversal entrepreneurial competences that were identified at the forefront of requirements for economic and social development, as determinants for job creation, employability, social emancipation and personal fulfilment in labour contexts. Using this competence framework, a scale for the assessment of entrepreneurial competences has been developed and empirically validated. The chapter then presents the results of the application of the scale in the four countries addressed in the study. This investigation addressed a sample of 449 young professionals and 88 employers, and offers insights on two perspectives: (1) the competence profile of young professionals, from different educational backgrounds, and across distinct European contexts; (2) the entrepreneurial competence requirements reported by the employers of leading industries. These two perspectives are matched in order to infer the importance of the gap between the requirements of employers and the offer from the graduates. The chapter therefore offers a timely contribution for the understanding of the span of psychological and behavioural characteristics, along with management and technical knowledge and skills that need to be at the forefront of education and training, and aligned with societal development goals.