The Entrepreneurship Lab is an experimental labour market policy strategy for the creation of new jobs in Lower Austria. The overriding objective is the development and establishment of regionally anchored start-up projects, which both break new ground in terms of ideas and generate new forms of work and business models.

In the sense of a regional stimulation of economic growth, the objectives of the lab coincide with those of the European Commission – published in the "Action Plan Entrepreneurship 2020" as a response to the challenges that have arisen from the economic crises of the last 50 years. The Action Plan provides a blueprint for concrete recommendations for action to awaken Europe's entrepreneurial potential, remove existing obstacles to starting a business and establish the culture of entrepreneurship in the EU in order to create new jobs. The foundation for building entrepreneurial potential in the population is the teaching of entrepreneurial "business skills". According to the Action Plan 2020, this is one of the most worthwhile investments that Europe can make: According to the European Commission, people who do not start a business also benefit from this, as "business skills" include both economic knowledge and those essential skills that will increase employability in the labour market 4.0, which are required with the start of the labour market 4.0 era.

The change of the modern workplace towards the digital workspace brings a whole range of challenges for companies as well as for employees. Hierarchical structures are replaced by net-shaped, agile structures. The change away from presence to a culture of results requires new management concepts, away from control to empowerment.

Austria performs relative less well regarding labour force IT skills compared to other OECD countries with similar income levels. Less educated and older people are also disproportionately affected by this issue (Dorr, 2016). According to the European Start-Up Monitor problems experienced by Austrian start-ups are similar to those of other EU countries, for example, in product development, and marketing and funding.

A pilot project, Entrepreneurship Lab, was initiated in 2017 in Austria in an effort to address these challenges. This PES project is a new labour market policy measure targeting unemployed persons who might be interested in becoming self-employed and equipping them with important skills needed to cope with digitalisation (sometimes labelled the Fourth Industrial Revolution). In this pilot project, new and innovative, often platform-based business models are emerging with the potential for value-creation and employment through on-demand services and crowd-work.

As part of an 18-week training programme, 15 unemployed people per course develop their innovative business ideas with the aim of creating new jobs for themselves, that may or may not be profit oriented. They support each other and are supported by two trainers – one from each of the two consulting firms involved – as well as by external trainers providing knowledge and training in business and soft skills supporting creativity.

To create employment through regional based start-up projects and prepare new self-employed workers for the coming transition to a new digital economy with a focus on producing ideas that are economically sustainable. The objectives include the following;

• To develop business ideas;
• To develop entrepreneurial skills;
• To empower and develop resilience;
• To promote and encourage networking as social capital;
• To develop economic skills;
• To prepare for new social and economic requirements;
• To encourage the use of new social media tools and ICT in general.

• The Entrepreneurship Lab starts with an information day where the unemployed persons, selected by the regional PES offices to attend, are provided with information on the measure.
• Those who decide to start with the Lab need to go through an assessment in which skills such as creativity, responsibility, stamina and ambition are tested. The most successful candidates are accepted into the programme.
• The measure consists of three phases:

• The idea incubator: this phase lasts three weeks in which successful start-ups are presented, the participants’ own competences and interests are reflected individually, visions and ideas are developed in the group, and the first steps towards individual and group empowerment are taken.
• The start phase: lasting nine weeks, this phase develops the ideas from the first phase step-by-step, alongside skills training including ICT, marketing, sales, design, soft skills etc. In a co-working space, individuals develop their business plans alone and together with other group members. At the end of the phase there is a test for a business skills pass. The Business Skills Pass includes both the methods acquired in the idea incubation phase and the business skills (theoretical knowledge and entrepreneurial experience) acquired in the course of the start-up phase according to the focus of the topic.
• The up 4.0 phase: In the up 4.0 phase, which lasts a further five weeks, the project ideas are finalised, with specialised modules offered on entrepreneurial experience, networking, ICT and soft skills. Towards the end of this phase, participants have the possibility to take the test for the European Business Competence Licence (EBCL). There is also a presentation of the business idea in front of an external jury consisting of experts from e.g. the Chamber of Commerce, the regional innovation centres (RIZ), a risk capital funder, PES, BMASK, but also former Lab participants.

• The measure, due to the intensity of the training and corresponding necessity of trainer hours, is relatively expensive, with a cost for the PES of approximately EUR 50 000 for the 18-week course for 15 people.

Outcomes:

There were four courses from 2017 to 2019, two in each year with 15 participants each:

• The Lab was successful with most former participants having launched their own businesses, or being in the process of doing so, one or two years after the end of the measure. In early 2018, 26% of the participants from 2017 were employed or had founded a company. Because of this, the PES decided to prolong the pilot project into 2018, and again into 2019.
• Participants have raised their qualifications, and praised the quality of the course modules, the networking experiences, experiencing new technologies and other things. All of them have said that they have benefited enormously from the experience of the Lab.
• Most participants have also experienced problems and challenges with launching their own small business due to their age (in their mid-40s on average). Little income, long hours, and little recognition have become the natural environment for many. Financing poses a particular problem to a number of them. Most have stated that they feel there is little alternative for them in their fifties on the labour market.