News

End of the EU Grant and Start of a New Phase for the ESP

The Leonardo da Vinci Grant that initially supported the development of the ESP ended in November, after three years of implementation. 

Since its start in 2013, the consortium focused on the development of the qualification package, worked on its implementation and allocated particular efforts to leverage strong stakeholder support by getting endorsement from public and private organisations, both at the European and national level. The results achieved so far are outstanding and show partners’ commitment in making the ESP sustainable in the long-run. 

The ESP is running today in 25 countries/organisations across Europe. In three years of implementation it involved 25,242 students, among which 12,765 completed the self-assessment, 11,934 took the final exam, and 5,881 students successfully got the ESP certificate (2,932 from VET schools and 2,949 from academic schools). At the local level, the JA organisations worked with 850 schools (566 vocational and 284 academic) and over 1,700 teachers were trained, either face-to-face or online. 

Another aspect that made the ESP a successful project was the involvement of business/industry. During the past three years, the ESP has been increasingly supported by companies: almost 300 businesses either sponsored students and engaged their human capital and expertise in coaching and mentoring students at school or offered successful candidates further opportunities in terms of training, work experience or start-up support.

“The adjective I would use to describe the whole experience I had with ESP (the JA Company Programme, the self-assessment and the final exam), would be “INSPIRING”. I am fascinated by every aspect of this experience. I am glad to have passed the exam since it will be really handy when it comes to my future and my entrepreneurial plans! The ESP experience has definitely affected my future expectations.” -JA Alumnus and ESP holder from Greece

“The ESP certificate is a unique opportunity for students. This qualification process motivates our students to develop their knowledge and to work on their competitive advantage while entering the labour market.” -Teacher from Slovakia

“We want to drive forward the awareness and implementation of the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass to ensure that entrepreneurship competencies are recognised on the European labour market. The ESP is a great way for a young and proactive professional to differentiate themselves and to prove the high-standard of their entrepreneurial abilities, essential for their success within small and big companies.” -Company endorsing the ESP

Throughout the project, the consortium created an ecosystem of partnerships and a community of trained educators that will keep supporting the growth and expansion of the initiative. Additional efforts were also allocated to further increase the recognition of the ESP among relevant stakeholders and to link the ESP to other relevant initiatives such as the Pact for Youth, the European and National Qualifications Framework, Europass, etc. The recently created ESP Advisory Council and the National Focus Groups will play a key role in the future, by pursuing these objectives. The ESP currently displays solid future plans, a high level of sustainability, as well as a strong potential to be transferred to other regions and contexts.

To have a detailed overview of the results achieved so far, download the ESP Report.