Training Needs

Training needs of disadvantaged groups

According to OECD , most country-level evidence shows that entrepreneurs from under-represented and disadvantaged groups are, on average, less likely to operate high-growth firms because they lack the skills, networks and access to fi- nance needed for growth. However, there are also many examples of success. Please find below the main training needs of the above-mentioned disadvantaged groups. Entrepreneurs from under-represent-

ed and disadvantaged groups are more likely to report barriers in the areas of entrepreneurship skills and access to fi- nance. Women and youth are less likely to create businesses that grow. Only about one-quarter of self-employed women and self-employed immigrants, and one-third of self-employed seniors have created jobs for others. Self-employed youth are much less likely to have employees. These shares are significantly lower than for the self-employed population as a whole. On the other hand, youth and seniors who start a business are as confident as other entrepreneurs in their ability to hire employees. During 2014-18, about one-in-ten new youth and senior entrepreneurs expected that their start-ups would create at least 19 jobs in the first five years, which is about equal to the overall average. However, only 5.5% of new women entrepreneurs expected this level of growth compared with 12.3% of men. This suggests the need for policies to encourage a greater orientation to growth in business start-ups from some sections of the population.

The report also identifies a number of other constraints to entrepreneurship among the specific target populations including in the areas of access to finance.