Database of labour market practices
This database gathers practices in the field of employment submitted by European countries for the purposes of mutual learning. These practices have proven to be successful in the country concerned, according to its national administration. The European Commission does not have a position on the policies or measures mentioned in the database.
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Original Title: | Entrepreneurship Lab |
Country: | Austria |
Responsible body: | The Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection (BMASGK) and PES Lower Austria (AMS NÖ) |
Name(s) of other organisations involved (partners / sub-contractors): | ösb: supplying trainers; Update training: supplying trainer; Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT): accompanying evaluation and monitoring the progress of the pilot project. |
Start Year of implementation: | 2017 |
End Year of implementation: | 2019 |
EU policy relevance: | The Europe 2020 strategy has been the EU's agenda for growth and jobs over the current decade. It emphasises smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in order to improve Europe's competitiveness and productivity and underpin a sustainable social market economy. The Entrepreneurship Lab is contributing to smart growth: developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation, fostering sustainable growth: in promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy and an inclusive growth. With reference to the EU Guidelines for the employment policies of the MS the “Entrepreneurship Lab” is in accordance to Guideline 5: Boosting the demand for labour. It contributes to facilitate the creation of quality jobs by fostering entrepreneurship and genuine self-employment and, in particular, by supporting the creation and growth of micro and small enterprises. It promotes the social economy and fosters social innovation as well as it encourages innovative forms of work which create quality job opportunities. It is also in accordance to Guideline 6: enhancing labour supply: access to employment, skills and competences. The reconciliation of work, family and private life for both women and men are in focus. It is also tackling Guideline 7: enhancing the functioning of labour markets and the effectiveness of social dialogue – benefitting from a dynamic and productive workforce and new work patterns and business models as an outcome of the Entrepreneurship Lab. |
National labour market context: | 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. The present pilot project is intended to give job-seekers the opportunity to develop new jobs themselves within a protected framework without pressure, but accompanied by numerous impulses and support offers. |
Policy area: | Active labour market policies, Education and training systems, Gender equality, Job creation, Labour market functioning and segmentation, Labour market participation, Skills supply, productivity and lifelong learning, Social inclusion and anti-discrimination, Social security systems, Work-life balance |
Specific policy or labour market problem being addressed: | 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. A vital part of “Entrepreneurship Lab” took place in a co-working space, which aims to inspire the participants to build peer networks and exchange ideas and resources among each other through group-empowerment. They learn to utilise their individual skills and knowledge to team up and form new companies together. The participants learn new ways of working together and create new organisation forms of work– for instance combining self-employment with belonging to a company with limited liability. |
Aims and objectives of the policy or measure: | 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;
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Main activities / actions underpinning the policy or measure: |
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Geographical scope of policy or measure: | National |
Target groups: | Long-term unemployed (more than 12 months), Minority ethnic groups, Older workers and unemployed (aged 50 to 64 years) |
Outputs and outcomes of the policy or measure: | Outcomes: There were four courses from 2017 to 2019, two in each year with 15 participants each:
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