gglobalization, automation and offshoring of jobs, economy shaken by recession: the American economic landscape is changing. By necessity, the millennial workforce is evolving with it to become more entrepreneurial. An example of this is that according to the 2014 Annual Youth Entrepreneurship Study conducted by my company YEC and Buzz Marketing Group, 25% of young entrepreneurs started their businesses after being unemployed, up from 21% in 2011.
Entrepreneurship offers value, especially in this recovering economy. So why aren’t we doing more to support this generation of entrepreneurial-minded individuals – 82% of whom are interested in starting their own business one day – with more targeted resources, training and hands-on education that would help to prosper? Whether they’re building businesses or working alongside startups, many Millennials still lack the skills they need to thrive.
We need to prepare millennials, both privately and publicly, for the intrapreneurship and entrepreneurial opportunities needed to succeed in our changing economy. Based on our survey results, here are some ways we need to support this growing trend of people who, out of necessity, desperation, or sheer desire, are starting businesses or becoming leaders in the next generation of businesses.
Building public/private partnerships
The internet has fundamentally changed business as we know it, and starting a business – or landing a coveted job in any industry – requires young people to have an entirely new skill set. In order to meet the demand for experienced staff, private and public sector organizations need to work together to fill the gap in skills and technical knowledge. However, this is clearly not happening fast enough, as evidenced by the 79% of respondents to our survey who wished they had been offered a coding course but never were.
An example of a program successfully filling this gap is P-TECH, the IBM-backed school that helps high school students earn technical associate degrees. In districts where public schools alone are unable to provide competitive technical skills training – so that students are knowledgeable enough to manage, work with, or be part of development teams – public-private partnerships like this are important to better train the next generation of our workforce.
Provide financial literacy and entrepreneurship training at a younger age
Eighty-seven percent of young people have expressed a desire to embark on entrepreneurship at some point in their career, according to our survey; however, our K-12 curriculum is not currently designed to teach financial literacy or business skills. While organizations like Junior Achievement (JA) educate students about work readiness and provide hands-on financial planning experience for kids in K-12, many of these programs are underfunded and struggling. to operate within current infrastructures, even in situations where the system cannot offer other alternatives.
Eighty-one percent of Millennials look up to those their own age who have started businesses, which is why YEC has partnered with JA to institute a national peer-to-peer mentorship initiative connecting successful Millennials with students around the world. high school in JA programs across the United States. Making entrepreneurship more accessible to students, through mentoring or hands-on classes, provides them with invaluable insight and support.
Invest in hands-on training
After graduating from college, every student should have the skills to become self-employed or start a business in their field, either because they want to or because it may be the only job option available. To prepare students for this reality, college entrepreneurship training must be successful. Clearly people want it – an overwhelming 97% of respondents to our survey think entrepreneurship education is important – yet of the just 38% who have received a course, 62% said that it was not enough to start a new business. after graduating.
We need to structure these courses, in schools, to be more experiential using ideas like the ones that are already working at Babson, where students start a business from day one. A Babson degree is practical and professional as much as it is the fundamental pillars of a college liberal arts education. Additionally, we need to create opportunities for community colleges to better build long-term viable ecosystems by finding people to teach trades applicable to local industries.
Bring graduates into startups
Young Americans don’t just admire Mark Zuckerberg, they want to work for him: 88% said they would like to work for an entrepreneur. Not everyone needs to found a startup, but everyone needs to be able to think flexible, creatively and entrepreneurially to be successful in their careers in 2014. Instead, many of our most qualified students are directed directly to saturated markets such as finance and law.
It’s hard for startups to recruit like big corporations do, so colleges and private organizations need to play a role in bringing their best and brightest into startup opportunities. Initiatives like Venture for America, which places top graduates in startups across the country, connect graduates to these networks. As VfA founder Andrew Yang says in his book Smart People Should Build Things, there are hundreds of smart, enterprising graduates who should train to create value. We need to provide real-world training and help startups find and nurture talent, to create an entrepreneurial workforce with real, tangible skills.
The economy has changed – Education must keep up or fall further behind
Whether we’re training the next generation of entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial individuals, we need to make sure our support systems meet the needs of today’s American workforce – or we risk losing our status. of innovators. The rest of the world is not going to wait for us to find out.
Scott Gerber is a serial entrepreneur, author (Never Get a ‘Real’ Job), TV commentator and founder of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invitation-only organization of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. @scottgerber
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