An interregional entrepreneurial school is being set up for ambitious women in two Romanian regions. It will offer an innovative training programme that could be exported to other regions in Europe.
- 16 March 2011
The programme courses will be delivered through an e-learning platform to some 1 800 women. More than 70 of the women economy graduates will also be trained to become entrepreneurship trainers.
Developing entrepreneurial skills
A study of Romania’s Nord-Vest and Vest regions highlighted a range of economic and societal challenges, such as a poor entrepreneurial culture, adults’ low participation in education and continuous training, a lack of continuous training in rural areas, and the high percentage of people working in subsistence agriculture. The Entrepreneurship and Equal Opportunities project aims to address all of these.
One goal is to develop the entrepreneurial and managerial skills of women in six of the country’s West frontier counties (Maramureş, Satu-Mare, Bihor, Arad, Timiş, Caraş-Severin), with a view to increasing the number of companies in both rural and urban areas. The project also seeks to promote equal opportunities in employment by involving women, especially those from rural areas, in the creation of their own business.
Part funded by the EU, the project has seven national partners. They include the National Agency for Equal Opportunities for Men and Women, four regional universities, the ‘Commercial Academy’ Foundation from Satu Mare, and the Romanian Management Scientific Society. Target groups include women managers who want to develop or initiate their business in the Romanian West border area.
E-learning platform
When the programme has been completed, some 1 800 women students will have completed 12 training modules on entrepreneurship using the Entrepreneurial School’s e-learning platform. The project is also expected to yield at least 10 articles on women’s entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship on the Romanian border, to be published in the specialised press, plus a network on partnership, dialogue and communication between the partner institutions.
There will be public debates on the good practices and lessons learnt from the project. Local media will be actively invited to report, through articles and interviews with people from the project and practical demonstrations. Lastly, the training courses developed will be used by the partner institutions for use by other target groups and in other regions. This will be on a fee-paying basis after the project ends, to cover the cost of trainers and logistics.