YEBISU empowers employees The project "YEBISU empowers employees" aims to find instruments to improve the entrepreneurial behaviour of employees. To this end the project intents to develop a set of units of learning outcomes as well as the assessment tool to measure these outcomes for entrepreneurial behaviour on the levels 1 - 5 of the EQF. The units of learning outcomes are meant for the competences of Ambiguity, Change and Range of the EQUFAS framework, the key competences for the soft skills of entrepreneurial behaviour. Although the units are developed for the agricultural sector they are planned to be transferable to other sectors also. This is the reason why also partners from other sectors are involved. The partners from companies, VET institutes and branch organisations will develop a common approach to fostering entrepreneurship. The output will provide: Clarity of understanding those competences described in the EQUFAS framework under Ambiguity, Change and Range. Determination of the place where these descriptors belong in the educational and professional profiles. Established units of 'learning outcomes' to make entrepreneurial competences accessible for the different EQF-levels in non-formal and informal education. Established assessment methodology. A framework for the implementation phase in a network situation. Training of trainers in outcome based learning according to the taxonomy of Dee Fink. Assessment. Evaluation of the implementation phase to see if the approach did lead to the improvement of entrepreneurial behaviour. Addapted and improved units of 'learning outcomes'.. Addapted and improved assessment tools. Recommendations regarding the place of the units of 'learning outcomes' in formal education. Dissemination activities linked to the branch, other sectors and other projects. The impact will be that: The employees will engage more actively in entrepreneurial behaviour and are more aware of opportunities and their own capabilities. They will widen their possibilities on the labor market. The companies will use the units of 'learning outcomes' and the assessment tools to keep track of the development of their employees. This helps them in strategic planning and team development of their companies. The branch will demonstrate it's role as a supporter for the sector in innovation and can prove to be the ideal partner to dissiminate the outcomes to the whole sector. For the VET institutes the units of 'learning outcomes' and the taxonomy of Dee Fink are a starting point to further develop their entrepreneurship education. Teachers will have first hand experience of what entrepreneurial behaviour in companies mean and will be more aware of their own capabilities YEBISU CoP will have a better common understanding of what entrepreneurial behaviour is and how to cooperate in developing it.
2. Short summary of the project At the heart of Yebisu e.e. is the development of staff and companies through fostering entrepreneurial behaviour within organisations (intrapreneurial behaviour). We have been working with the principles of the learning organisation. This meant that we didn’t follow our blue-print to the letter. The interaction between the practice in companies and the more conceptual approach of VET institutes determined the direction and development of the project. The needs of the companies were leading. The project continued work developed in previous projects, especially EQUFAS and earlier projects of the Yebisu partnership. We defined and described the intrapreneurial behaviour of employees and made it measurable with an assessment tool. Also, during pilots, we supported partner companies in designing an approach to developing the intrapreneurial behaviour of their staff. One of the most significant outcomes of the project was that the leaders of companies realized that they had to lead by example. Our activities included research and design in a developers’ group, partner meetings that tested and developed Intellectual Outputs, tailor-made pilots, development and training activities, dissemination and marketing activities. We started disseminating to branch and European organisations from the start. We made sure we were not just sending information, but exchanging ideas that we could take back to our partnership and use to develop our ideas and result further. The Yebisu partnership dates back to 2010 and comprises a mix of companies and VET institutes. The companies and their development are the core of the partnership. The VET institutes are learning about entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship and offering their expertise in learning and development. From the start, Yebisu has been working with the concept of EQF levels, which proved very useful to company owners to make smart decisions about mixed-level teams. The partnership of this project Yebisu empowers employees consisted of 8 landscaping companies, 4 VET institutes, 3 training companies and 1 branch organisation. We have partners from Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungaria, Norway and The Netherlands. Our main results are ¥ a profile for intrapreneurial behaviour within a company and three units of learning outcomes detailing this behaviour ¥ an international version of the NLQF descriptors that includes intrapreneurial behaviour ¥ a levels game to facilitate workshops about EQF/NLQF levels and determine the place of the units in the qualifications ¥ recommendations on how the units can fit into (formal) education profiles, both specifically for the Dutch context (in Dutch) and more general for the European context (in English). ¥ an online assessment tool to measure intrapreneurial behaviour (http://www.surveyplanet.nl/live/v1/manager/?p=267937044bdd0fd6f921687d1dc4542d) and the option to store assessment results in a skills bank (after the project ends this will cost a fee) (www.skillsbank.eu then use ID: YEBISU-Tester1; PW: Tester1) ¥ a toolbox of training materials to use in in-company training ¥ promotion materials specifically tailored towards companies and branch organisations The impact is apparent at different levels. Company owners learned how they influence intrapreneurial behaviour in their organisation and piloted and implemented this in their respective organisations. VET institutes got a more in-depth understanding of intrapreneurial behaviour in companies, which in turn benefitted their educational programmes. Also, we were able to put the topic on the agenda of European and national branch organisations, leading to increased cooperation and concrete initiatives in those organisations. Finally, as early adopters of the European Skills Agenda, we were able to participate in high-level European events, which improved visibility and impact of the project and provided valuable experience for the partners. Members of the Yebisu partnership keep up the cooperation after the project is finished without further funding. Activities are already planned concerning a ‘Young Gardeners Network’ and the problems of companies in the green and other sectors in finding employees in lower EQF levels as well as reintegrating potential employees who are now jobless into the labour market with the Yebisu tools. You’ll find the results and the contact information yebisuproject.wordpress.com.