The Importance of Entrepreneurship Education
The human capital aspects of an entrepreneurship ecosystem rely on education, which is vitally important to address the unemployment crisis in the country. The South African government presents a clear plan of action through the 2030 NDP, which aims to reduce poverty and inequality while growing the economy, whereby skills development is essential to achieve this aim. However, the education system is producing millions of unskilled youth who cannot find a job because there are not enough jobs and cannot start their own business because they do not have any skills or experience. Youth entrepreneurs need to be empowered with a specific skill set if they are to succeed in their NVC efforts.1 The schooling system promotes employability and does not place any focus on entrepreneurship which has created lasting effects on the economy. What students are being taught in school is not enough for them to find jobs and become economically active when leaving school. However, if the required entrepreneurship skills are provided throughout high school, it would empower students to leave school with an entrepreneurial mindset and the intention to start and grow a successful business.
If entrepreneurship is taught effectively at a young age, it might be possible to increase the potential of future NVC and enable youth entrepreneurs to grow businesses in the formal sector. There is a need to integrate entrepreneurship into the high school curriculum, where entrepreneurship skills development should be seen as fundamental to increasing entrepreneurship propensity levels and new venture creation potential by assisting the youth to understand more about the challenges, opportunities, and best practices in starting a new venture in South Africa. The goal of education related initiatives should therefore aim to assist individuals in gaining the necessary entrepreneurship skills and experience as this leads to improved self-efficacy2 and habitual entrepreneurship.3
1Smith (2017), 2Bandura (1994), 3Martin (2015)
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