The Access Enterprise Project

Program:

The Access Enterprise project will develop learning resources which support the professional development of new and existing Business Advisers/Coaches working with people from marginalised groups including young people, people with mental health issues, people with disabilities, migrants, people from a BME background, people over 50; people from social deprived communities; and women.

Description:

One of the main aims of the Access Enterprise project is to develop and produce learning resources and a training methodology which, through a co-production process (working with the end users (Business coaches and Entrepreneurs from marginalised groups) during the consultation, piloting and strategic positioning of the project, ensure that disadvantaged learners people’s needs are at it's heart. The basis for the success of this project is the project partners’ belief and determination that people from the marginalized groups listed above should have person centred supported which enables them to explore and move into self-employment and set up businesses. The project through development of the research, and training resources, will give adult learners from these marginalised groups the opportunity to learn from each other and also co-create the emerging resources by sharing their experiences and what skills, values and experiences are necessary for Business Advisers to support them effectively. Through the development of this training adult educators (Business Advisers) will increase their own skills and competences, in each of the partner countries and across Europe, and will be better equipped to support people from marginalised groups to learn, explore entrepreneurship and ultimately set up businesses. The project will address this identified gap in existing provision and will complement existing services by developing a set of resources for individuals from marginalised groups to overcome barriers into business start-up and achieve their self-employment aspirations, resulting in greater chances within the labour market. Currently there is a lack of appropriate opportunities for a combined package of training, development and personal support to provide person centred support on entrepreneurship and business start-up, and therefore improving their lives.

Targets

• Business Advisers/Coaches

• Potential entrepreneurs from disadvantaged groups or communities
  

Outputs

State of the art review into business start-up support and entrepreneurship in Europe Training modules for Business Advisors Access Enterprise Impact Assessment, Positional Analysis and Sustainability Report

Partners:

MEH (UK) DEFOIN (ES) Approximar (PT) Athens Lifelong Learning Institute (GR) Social Innovation Fund (LT) CPIP (Ro) For more info: Stacey Robinson staceyrobinson@expandinghorizons.co.uk www.accessenterpriseproject.com