Business Support Professionals

Business Support Professional Career Pathway

Partners?Leonardo Programme – European Lifelong Learning Partnershipinvolving:• Syntra West - Belgium• Slovenia – Institute for Business Education• Spain – Chamber of Commerce• Bulgaria – European Management Centre• Norway – Agency for Business Development

and from the UK Birmingham City University (Business School) and the project Lead

BES

What Are Our Aims

To Develop a European Business Support Professional Standard Career Path and

Qualification Structure Including Continuous Professional Development

The Survey

The Business Support Professional Career Pathway Leonardo partnership has commissioned itself to produce research into aspects of the occupation

The Survey

• Having examined the Architecture (defining the policy framework) we then wanted to explore the professional agencies themselves

• Three part survey emerged:– Profiling the agencies– Types of Support– The coverage of the support

• Pilot in Norway

Scope of Business Support in Europe

• How is the business support in Europe organised? What’s the architecture?

• What kind of support is offered?• What kind of support is publicly funded in the partner

countries?• How is entrepreneurship stimulated?• What are the requirements for a business support

professional?• Are there best practices which can be used in other countries?

The Results - Profile

Marketing Business Training

Finance Legal Contracting General Support

Networking Assessment0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Type of Business Support Offered

YesNoPlanned

The Results - Profile

Out of Work/Pre Access

Potential Entrepreneurs

Start-Ups

Developments

Growth

Diversification

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Customer Profile

YesNo

The Results - Profile

Open Access Pre-assessment

Assessment Certified/Audited

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Planned

No

Yes

Start-Up Support

PlannedNoYes

The Results - Profile

Failing Business

Expansion

Succession

High Growth

New Markets

Franchising

Exporting

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Business Development Assistance

YesNoPlanned

The Results - Profile

State Funded

The client pays

Part state – part client funded

Part state – part third party funded

Provide a free service: Voluntary delivered

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Who Pays

YesNo

The Results - Profile

Assisting finance raising

Broker

Bid Writer

Financial Advice

Financial Planning

Intermediary/Infrastructure

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Investments

YesNo

The Results - Profile

State Funded

The client pays

Part state – part client funded

Part state – part third party funded

Provide a free service: Voluntary delivered

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Who Pays

YesNo

The Results - Results

Entrepreneurship; 119

Technical; 46

Vocational; 47

Management; 79

Type of Training

BES Career Path Job Role Level Licensed Accredited Development and Delivery Criteria

Community Enterprise Champion 2

No official requirement to date

No

Training Modules and Assessment

Enterprise Coaches 3

Community Enterprise Engagement

contractors.

No

Training Modules Observations, Assessments, Shadowing, assignments

Enterprise Advisers

4

Business Link requirement in some regions and potential skills brokers

Yes

Training Modules Observations, Assessments,

Business Advice Brokers

5

Mixed dependent upon region

policy

Yes

Assessment Centre’s, Development Centre’s, Self-assessments, Training

Modules Observations, Assessments, Shadowing, assignments

Professional Adviser 6 No

In Progress

Training Modules Observations, Assessments, Shadowing, assignments

Business Consultant

7 No No Modular Delivery, lectures, assignments, dissertation

BSP Europe Career Path

Certified Management Consultant US

Insight in European Business Support

• There is a big difference in the kind of Business Support offered by the BSP across Europe concerning the process of businesses (potential start-ups, start-ups, business in development,…) and the kind (finance, marketing, contracting, coaching, …) of support.

• Pro active stimulation and coaching of enterprising people is in some countries offered by a BSP, in other countries via funded projects if being offered at all.

• A Business Support Professional Career Path is not present in the architecture of most of partner countries.

• The minimum standard for a business support professional is degree and not (business) experience in all countries. Subsequently, the kind of support offered is likely more technical ‘hard skill knowledge’ support, whereas competence of soft skill coaching is little subject of business support via non or social profit sector.