Entrepreneurship education: an evaluation of the Young Enterprise Wales initiative

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of the impact of the Young Enterprise Wales (YEW) programme on its participants. YEW represents the Wales region of the programme which is an annual competition to assist 15-19-year-old secondary school pupils acquire entrepreneurial skills through running a business. Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilises a semi-structured data collection method within which attitudes, impacts and perceptions of the YEW programme are assessed. In total, 44 participants in a YEW regional final were interviewed and a questionnaire completed. Findings – The results indicated a positive participant reaction to the YEW programme with an affirmative response to all questions regarding the impact and experience of the course. The post final results suggested that the programme has improved entrepreneurial competencies and the future potential for business start-up. Research limitations/implications – The paper recognises that the research respondents were...

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