Policy Framework

Wallonia

The Walloon Government stated in the "Wallonia's Regional Policy Statement 2019-2024" (Déclaration de Politique Régionale de la Wallonie 2019-2024) the importance “to raise awareness of sense of initiave and entrepreuneurship especially among young people, from primary school and to strengthen entrepreneurial generations" .

The Government charged the Agency "Wallonie Entreprendre" (WE), a public service, to implement this objective through the programme "entrepreneurial generations" : 

WE provides a global vision of support for entrepreneurship via 4 areas:

1. awareness-raising,
2. information,
3. support
4. and financing. 

As from 2024, the budget allocated to awareness-raising campaigns for sense of initiave and entrepreuneurship will increase to 3 millions each year instead of 2 million. 

The Minister of Economy has asked Wallonie Entreprendre to reach 100,000 young people the 2023-2024 academic year, in particular through a new campaign and actions in schools. For its new back-to-school campaign, the project's promoters will be focusing on female entrepreneurship, in particular by inviting female entrepreneurs to talk about their experiences in schools.

Brussels

The Agency charged to support Entrepreneurship in the Brussels Region is "HUB.Brussels". 

At federal level, the Minister of self-employed workers and middle classes has created the status “student-entrepreneur” for students under 25 years old. This law will came into effect the 1^st of January 2017. This is a tax and social status which supports entrepreneur’s students who earn money thanks to their entrepreneurial activity while they are still at school. They used to be disadvantaged compare to the ones with a student job regarding the tax collecting.    

Formal learning

The Agency makes sure that each Walloon school ensures information about Walloon economy, entrepreneurial possibilities, and entrepreneurship awareness to every student. With this in mind, the Agency works with officers in charge of raising awareness about entrepreneurship. They encounter headteachers and teachers to raise awareness about entrepreneurship, promote the entrepreneurial teaching method and the importance to bring this competence into curricula across schools. They are the ambassadors of entrepreneurship in schools.

The Agency also launches “calls for projects” for activities for students to discover the “entrepreneurship world”. For instance, bringing a professional entrepreneur in school, role-playing, e-learning on the entrepreneurial thematic, etc.

Higher education is a chosen partner for the Agency. The strategy aims at developing more concrete activities with high schools and Universities dedicated to entrepreneurial activity and economy. The Agency supports these schools financially or with actions lead by associations or private operators. The objective is to create, develop or intensify lectures focused on entrepreneurship activity (how to make a business plan, accounting, etc.). These lectures are fully part of the academic programme and are part of the ECTS system.

The Agency intends to develop assessment tools to validate skills acquired through academic curricula or through non-formal or informal learning.

Walloon Universities have developed a status for students with a specific profile. It recognises entrepreneurial, disabled, sports and artist students a specific profile which offers them more flexibility with their timetable. It is an initiative of Universities and higher education schools themselves. Therefore, the status and its features differ depending on the University. 

Non-formal and informal learning

At the level of the french-speaking Community, the International Youth Office offers a programme “Entrechok” which addresses directly young people. It offers them the possibility to travel abroad to develop their entrepreneurship project.

The International Youth Office is also a partner for a European project named “programme AKI” which aims at assessing and adding value to skills acquired by young people through an international mobility project. 

Educators support in entrepreneurship education

Wallonie

Wallonie entreprendre develops the entrepreneurship skills and competences among young people in schools.  WE offers:

1. in primary schools : tools such as "CapTen", a method designed to encourage students to dare to undertake and carry out an ambitious project of their own.
   In 2007, Cap'ten won the European Enterprise Award for "Investment in People" from the European Commission, which selected it from over 300 projects from the 27 Member States. 
2. in secondary schools (e.g. Les Jeunes Entreprises' Mini-entreprises) ;
3. in higher education (e.g. WSL's Startech).

There is no certification in entrepreneurship teaching.