Intergenerational Mentoring for Entrepreneurs

The recession has impacted unfavourably on the employment levels of younger people in the EU; in several countries this is now over 50% and rising. Older workers who become unemployed are more likely to slip into economic inactivity, especially women and the lower-skilled. Older workers have different skills and competences compared with other generations; without their participation in working life, a shortage of professional, structural and networking capacities will arise. Their transfer of knowledge to younger workers is important; different strengths of different generations creates the strongest combination of competences in the workplace. Better work ability for older people affects their later life; with the increasing numbers of older persons in the EU, it is vital that there is investment in active ageing (active living). Fostering entrepreneurship and transversal skills, including entrepreneurial teaching and innovative methods of approaching teaching, entrepreneurial experiences for younger people, students; this project addresses these aims.The main aim of this project was to develop working partnerships between education and employment, including self-employment, entrepreneurship; local and regional economic policies include entrepreneurship as a valid alternative to unemployment. Many older people are also turning to self-employment for the first time in their lives; in some cases this is a necessity, in some cases they want to realise their 'dreams'. Mentoring is proven to help new businesses to succeed; many business fail within the first year; personal help and guidance can make a difference. The older generation who have retired but are still active; their valuable skills and wisdom can be used for volunteer mentoring, making that vital difference to the new business and also giving the older person a feeling that they remain a valuable contributor to civil society; hence intergenerational mentoring. Young unemployed are also in danger of social exclusion; they will be helped by this project.The project created a Mentoring Masterclass; this is a 'Train the Trainer' course; 59 trained mentors (36 expected). An e-learning course (included in the Intergenerational Mentoring Process) was created (open access) and 341 mentees have been trained(108 expected); the curriculum includes innovation and creativity skills, creating the entrepreneurial mindset and employability skills. This course is suitable for the target audience of unemployed, entrepreneurs, mentors, students, apprentices and a wider audience, including employers and business organisations; it can be made available to anyone in the world, providing suitable security is implementedThe partnership is mixed: 2 VET colleges, both with experience of projects involving elderly people and their needs; a University of Applied Science, with valuable knowledge of entrepreneurship skills, mentoring and coaching, and also co-creation (Living Lab) methodology; two third sector charities, who deal with older people and volunteers; a business network with older members amongst their SME membership; a private training company who is also an entrepreneur; another entrepreneur with skills dealing with accessibility for older people; a European network with access to more than 1500 institutions across Europe and beyondAll project partners participating gained knowledge of mentoring; impact on teachers and trainers was greater confidence when dealing with the business world and the world of work; learners of all kinds gained confidence and employability skills needed by employers. Mentors gained skills and confidence, feel socially included; training and mentoring could offered as part of services offered by the two charities; the VET institutions (and UAS) will have e-learning course available to use at any time, for their staff and/or students. The target groups have experienced the e-learning and the mentoring process; receiving advice and guidance in the form of mentoring has proven very useful in helping businesses succeed, so there are likely to be more successful businesses. Particularly in Spain and in Greece these outcomes are impressive, with businesses started and some winning external competitions.