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Entrecomp - Your Careers Competency Framework

While at University you will have the opportunity not only to further your academic knowledge and understanding, but also to develop your employability skills and competencies.  

The Career Zone has adopted the Entrecomp framework and each of our activities have been labelled with the relevant entrecomp area. You can see which area of the framework each Career Zone activity will help you develop, and can target your engagement accordingly.

What is Entrecomp?       

The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework, also known as Entrecomp aims to establish a bridge between education and the world of work.

The Entrecomp framework consists of three interrelated and interconnected areas:

  • Ideas and opportunities
  • Resources
  • Into Action

Developed together, the three areas enable you to transform ideas and opportunities into action by mobilising resources that generate value for someone other than yourself. These resources can be personal (e.g. self-awareness and self-efficacy, motivation and perseverance), material (e.g. production means and financial resources) or non-material (e.g. specific knowledge, skills and attitudes).

Entrecomp defines entrepreneurship broadly applying it to all spheres of life: from nurturing personal development, to actively participating in society, to (re)entering the job market as an employee or as a self-employed person, or starting up ventures. Having the capacity to turn ideas that generate cultural, social or economic value for someone other than oneself is at the heart of the framework. 

Employability and the entrecomp framework should be developed alongside one another. Employability is about developing skills, gaining experiences, utilising social capital, and the deployment of these for the benefit of oneself (i.e. gaining a job, and continuing to develop personally and professionally, in order to keep in employment), and the entrecomp framework is about generating value for others – there is however, a very large overlap between the two. Career Zone activities are designed to enable you to develop both your own employability and your entrepreneurial capacity for the benefit of others.

Entrecomp at a glance

The Entrecomp overview table depicts the three areas and 15 competences of the framework, but develops them only on the three levels of proficiency that apply to all citizens: the foundation, intermediate and advanced levels. The expert level by definition captures a level of expertise that is beyond average, and more context-dependent and, as a result, is not detailed below.

Competence Foundation Intermediate Advanced
Spotting opportunities Learners can find opportunities to generate value for others Learners can recognise opportunities to address needs that have not been met Learners can seize and shape opportunities to challenges and create value for others
Creativity Learners can develop multiple ideas that create value for others Learners can test and refine ideas that create value for others. Learners can transform ideas into solutions that create value for others
Vision Learners can imagine a desirable future Learners can build an inspiring vision that engages others. Learners can use their vision to guide strategic decision making
Valuing ideas Learners can understand and appreciate the value of ideas Learners understand that ideas can have different types of value, which can be used in different ways Learners can develop strategies to make the most value generated by ideas
Ethical and sustainable thinking Learners can recognise the impact of their choices and behaviours, both within the community and the environment Learners are driven by ethics and sustainability when making decisions Learners act to make sure that their ethical and sustainability goals are met

*Learner is a broad the term used to indicate the subject of lifelong learning. It refers to pupils, students, jobseekers, employees, entrepreneurs and citizens alike.

Competence  Foundation Intermediate   Advanced
Self-awareness and self-efficacy Learners trust their own ability to generate value for other Learners can make the most of their strengths and weaknesses Learners can compensate for their weaknesses by teaming up with others and by further developing their strengths
Motivation and perseverance Learners want to follow their passion and create value for others Learners are willing to put effort and resources into following their passion and create value for others Learners can stay focused on their passion and keep creating value despite setbacks
Mobilising resources Learners can find and use resources responsibly Learners can gather and manage different types of resources to create value for others Learners can define strategies to mobilise the resources they need to generate value for others
Financial and economic literacy Learners can draw up the budget for a simple activity Learners can find funding options and manage a budget for their value creating activity Learners can make a plan for the financial sustainability of a value creating activity
Mobilising others Learners can communicate their ideas clearly and with enthusiasm Learners can persuade, involve and inspire others in value-creating activities Learners can inspire others and get them on board for value-creating activities

*Learner is a broad the term used to indicate the subject of lifelong learning. It refers to pupils, students, jobseekers, employees, entrepreneurs and citizens alike.

Competence Foundation Intermediate Advanced
Taking the initiative Learners are willing to have a go at solving problems that affect their communities Learners can initiate value-creating activities Learners can look for opportunities to take the initiative to add or create value
Planning and management Learners can define the goals for a simple value-creating activity Learners can create an action plan, which identifies the priorities and milestones to achieve their goals Learners can refine priorities and plans to adjust to changing circumstances
Coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk Learners are not afraid of making mistakes while trying new things Learners can evaluate the benefits and risks of alternative options and make choices that reflect their preferences Learners can weigh up risks and make decisions despite uncertainty and ambiguity
Working with others Learners can work in a team to create value Learners can work together with a wide range of individuals and groups to create value Learners can build a team and networks based on the needs of their value creating activity
Learning through experience Learners can recognise what they have learnt through taking part in value-creating activities Learners can reflect and judge their achievements and failures and learn from these Learners can improve their abilities to create value by building on their previous experiences and interactions with others

*Learner is a broad the term used to indicate the subject of lifelong learning. It refers to pupils, students, jobseekers, employees, entrepreneurs and citizens alike.