Giorgia Ponti
Economist/Policy Analyst, OECD
Entrepreneurship education builds adaptable, resilient mindsets — beyond startups. Discover how initiatives are redefining lifelong learning through creativity, collaboration and digital-age skills.
When most people think of entrepreneurship education, they imagine business pitches, tech startups and flashy prototypes. Yet, the real value of entrepreneurship learning goes far beyond launching a company. It’s about cultivating mindsets that help people adapt, innovate and thrive in an uncertain world.
Entrepreneurial skills boost adaptability
The ‘European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework’ (EntreComp) defines this mindset through a range of key skills: financial literacy, creativity, collaboration, perseverance, self-awareness, ethical behaviour and strategic planning. These abilities lay the foundation for resilience and opportunity-seeking in any career, not just business creation.
This approach is gaining momentum in Québec, Canada. As highlighted in the OECD’s ‘Geography of Higher Education in Québec,’ nearly 50% of the province’s higher education institutions now offer entrepreneurship activities or programmes. These institutions recognise the importance of developing transferable skills like creativity and adaptability. These are qualities that are increasingly sought after in today’s fast-changing economy.
At the University of Sherbrooke, entrepreneurship education is especially popular among doctoral and post-doctoral students, most of whom will pursue careers outside academia. As digital transformation reshapes industries, particularly through technologies like artificial intelligence, the demand for entrepreneurial skills is growing rapidly.
Many small businesses acquire digital
skills informally, often through internet
research and peer learning.
Mindset can be more valuable than formal training
Data from the upcoming 2025 OECD ‘Digital for SMEs’ Survey shows that many small businesses acquire digital skills informally, often through internet research and peer learning. In such settings, an entrepreneurial mindset, resourceful, proactive and curious, can be more valuable than formal training.
Importantly, this kind of education doesn’t aim to turn everyone into a founder. It prepares people to thrive in any context. The Covid-19 pandemic illustrated this clearly. Entire industries were upended, and people had to pivot, reinvent their skill sets and find new paths. Research from King’s College London found that those with entrepreneurial mindsets were better able to adapt, sustain their ventures and protect their wellbeing during the crisis.
Entrepreneurship enables lifelong learning
Entrepreneurship education, then, must be seen as a cornerstone of lifelong learning. It equips individuals to create value wherever they are — whether in startups, nonprofits, public service or established businesses. In a world of constant change, that’s not just good education. It’s essential preparation for life.
