Péter Nyári

Over 2 million jobs available in the EU

More than 2 million jobs are vacant in the European Union, according to EURES data - the European cooperation network for employment services, designed to facilitate the free movement of workers. Although there is a demand for workforce, just over 800,000 applications were submitted in April, according to the same data, which indicates a surplus of jobs during this period.

Most vacancies are available in countries such as Germany - over 628,000, France - over 600,000 and Belgium, about 200,000 jobs.

In terms of professions, the most looked up after are those that have direct interaction with people, especially in-store salespeople, sales agents and sales and marketing leaders.

The same statistics at EU level indicate that most job applications are from micro-enterprises (<10 employees), followed by small enterprises and far away from them are the large enterprises. If we take into consideration the studies, the most requested level of education is the high school or equivalent for the jobs mentioned above.

However, most applicants are people with a higher level of education, from countries such as France, Greece and Italy, with mostly technical and engineering training.

The SARS-COV2 pandemic had a major impact on the labor market and forced employers to rethink their recruitment and selection processes. The activity has suddenly moved into the online environment in a very large proportion, the importance of soft skills (creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, stress management) has increased, and employers are starting to pay more attention to artificial intelligence. This is the reason why more and more companies are currently looking for people willing to interact directly, but the reluctance of those looking for a job is also increased. This is indicated by the surplus of labor at EU level in April 2021, which is almost three times higher than the demand for labor.

by Péter Nyári

Constant changes

Anyone who gives his head to a business is aware that he has to face constant challenges, as the market is proving to be saturated in quite a few professions and disciplines. Professional development cannot be neglected, which can bring a serious advantage to those who consciously pay attention to it and sacrifice time and energy for it.

In recent times, however, it is not enough to endure the daily trials, the epidemic puts the female entrepreneurs under multiple ordeals:

- As entrepreneurs and employers, they have to deal with the restrictions associated with epidemiological measures and the accompanying economic effects, and at the same time they have to fulfill the tasks assigned to them as women and mothers, including learning with children, dealing with small children and household.

It is very difficult to manage these things with the same enthusiasm and energy from day to day.

Where possible, many are open to the online world – as many research finds.  Some are forced to act this way if they want to keep up with the world and does not want to pull the blinds down immediately.

Flexibility - adaptability - creativity - openness

Essential skills in today's world in order to keep a business afloat (which often provides the livelihood for families).

Difficulty or challenge?!

It depends… a coin always has two sides. However, we can definitely say , that the development, the desire to study are key factors to be succesfull in the world of work,to take the difficulties as  challenges and use them for our advatages - and stand as a woman, as a mother upheld duffciently in our family.

Selfless support ?!

Perhaps the Wingate project * was launched at the best possible time (both economically and otherwise) to create an e-knowledge base for its target entrepreneurs (and business angel investors) with training courses to support personality development and to develop professional competencies. During the project trainings, courses, events will be available for FREE for interested entrepreneurs.

By subscribing to the Wingate Magazine, this group can be enriched with up-to-date information - also by following our Facebook page and our LinkedIN group, ladies with entrepenural spirit can also find a series of useful information about the enterpenural world.

* The project benefits from a € 1,824,320 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and  Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation.

by Péter Nyári

Yes, You can start a business in difficult times!

Article by Lotte Frost, Norway

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected us all in many different ways, both regarding our work life and our personal life. We have shared learnings, we have been digitalized, we spend more time together with our families, we miss interaction with other people, we have started a sustainability journey etc. The list of what is transformed the last year is long and we are affected in different ways. Regarding business we see that green businesses is evolving and growing, new ideas are evoked while traditional companies that can´t cope with the system change are finding it hard to adjust and change.

How does the crises affect female entrepreneurs?

According to a newly published study from Kilden Kjønnsforskning[1] (gender research) in Norway, female entrepreneurs are struggling more during the crises than men, especially in three areas:

1. Female entrepreneurs dominate the businesses regarding closeness to clients; health, social work, travelling etc.
2. Uneven share of care responsibility regarding home-school and home-kindergarten
3. Women do not take enough advantage of the different schemes and tools offered by the government

The ability to readjust and claim your rights will vary between women, this is general learning of the pandemic crisis so far. The findings are supported in the Nordic innovation study[2], where the impact of the crises is highest in the businesses where there’s a higher share of female entrepreneurs:

Is this a time for establishing a new business?

Yes it is! If You have a good idea, if You have the guts, if the market wants it; it’s always time for establishing Your own business. And sometimes a crisis is a redemptive success factor. Cecilie Hoxmark, a member of the Women In business network in Norway, is one of the women who made a giant decision in the middle of the pandemic. She chose to leave a well-paid, secure job in order to give fully attention to an issue of great importance for her; involuntarily childless. By putting a very vulnerable and taboo topic on the agenda, she’s expiring huge attention and success. She has within a few months published a book, she has a podcast interviewing well known people and these days she’s launching her own YouTube channel.

So all you female entrepreneurs; follow your heart and launch your idea.
And If You need help, talk to us in the Wingate project, we’re here to help. Good luck!

[1]https://kjonnsforskning.no/sites/default/files/notat_bufdir_likestillingskonsekvenser_av_koronapandemien_arbeidsliv_og_okonomi.pdf

[2] http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1438362/FULLTEXT02.pdf

by Péter Nyári

Social Skills a Key to Business Success

Whether you run a small, medium company or you want to open a business in order to be successful, you must consider on the one hand the social skills, the so-called soft skills and, obviously, the skills that require work experience - the hard skills.

Soft skills are social skills based on emotional and social intelligence, while hard skills are those that can be quantified with the educational level of each and the work experience.

Following a WINGATE analysis based on the responses received from 1400 women in Romania, Serbia, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova and Norway, it emerged the importance of soft skills that women must have to open a business: public speaking, negotiation technique, conflict management and last but not least increased emotional intelligence. These features have been found to allow women to adapt more easily in the business environment, to have a positive attitude and to perform. Social skills are skills that have a great involvement in running a business on their own, they are combined with hard skills so as to achieve success in business.

Most of the interviewed ladies say that they value emotional intelligence more than a structured management plan, because soft skills mean integrating in the market and in the segment where you work, motivating and "selling" your business so as to create value. The ability to communicate effectively in business is an essential element to manage a successful business. Managerial communication is a function of management that makes known the result of managerial decisions and establishes a climate of understanding between those who transmit information and those who receive it.

The ability to resolve dysfunctions, the responsibility to allocate resources and the ability to negotiate are key competencies of a successful entrepreneur.

All these skills and abilities can be acquired through education or experience. Project management skills will help you lead your own team effectively to achieve your goals.

// The original article was published in Romanian. If you would like to read in this language, click please click here!

by Péter Nyári

How did our research develop? - We present the results of our research!

Our comprehensive, representative research has brought exciting data and information!
Let's just look at the details!

SURVEY ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OFWOMEN ENTERPRISES AND BUSINESS ANGELS

Executive summary
This document has been prepared in the framework of the WINGATE project (Project nr. 2018-1-0824), as part of WP3: Needs Assessment. The main goal is to better define the target group and identify their needs in terms of training for the role as women entrepreneurs and business angels.

The WINGATE Project benefits €1,824,320 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants for Regional Cooperation. Countries involved: Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Serbia and Norway, with partners representing SKC-Consulting (Hungary), Serbian Venture Network (Serbia),
Women/Business/Angels Association (Hungary), Kvinner i Business (Norway), National Association of Entrepreneurs ANAA, (Romania and Republic Moldova).

The main objective of our Wingate project is to increase competitiveness of women enterprises through creating an online platform - an innovative learning center that will provide opportunities through courses, information and thematic events dedicated to women's businesses, assisting them in improving their market presence both locally and internationally. The aim of the work package „Needs assessment” (WP3) was to engage the target group in a survey and interactive focus groups, in order to clearly identify what type of training and content in the training curricula should be developed in the next phase of Wingate Project based upon the needs and necessities of our target groups.

Based on the answers of an online questionnaire, accumulated to 1447 survey responses in the Project partners’ five countries. By using statistics and calibration we have clearly identified the following:

Average profile of women wanting to become entrepreneur or already working as entrepreneur
• Two age groups (26-40, 41–55) account for 86% of target group
• High education is a dominant characteristic (90% of target group)
• Equal representation of employees (Wants to be entrepreneur) and established entrepreneurs (Wants to grow business)
• English language is at an appropriate level

Although the answers showed some differences and country-specific needs, overall analysis showed the common interest and requirements of the countries involved. This will define the path to develop common training materials to be accessible on the Wingate Platform, which will be developed within the project. The country specific issue will be addressed through additional focus of Partners within the country in order to achieve best results.

• For Norway, a special emphasis could be given to discuss banking and credit rules and administration.
• For Serbia, it is advisable to have a training element on a general overview of taxing regulation and how to find the best help in tax accounting and optimization.
• For Moldova, training may emphasize the role of business networking as it may take too much time and effort to enforce contracts, therefore stabile and reliable partners are appreciated.
• For Hungary, the contractual agreements between entrepreneurs and investors must highlight tools to protect minority investors.
• For Romania, training definitively should include how to start a business step by step and what the administrational requirements are.

Regarding the identified skills, the responses outlined some essential soft and hard skills’ training needs, which is required both when starting a business or growing an existing business Regarding the identified skills, the responses outlined some essential soft- and hard skills’ training needs either when starting a business or for the one already running with the aim of growing. Soft skills are not often found in the curriculum of a school or college.

According to the answers in the open questions section in the questionnaire and reinforced during focus group meetings, we plan to provide our modular training courses in a way to form a complete set of entrepreneurial skillset and knowledge like an „Entrepreneurial Academy”, accessible through the Wingate Platform. A program containing elements and modules from the decision to write a business plan to financial and evaluation tools in the first 3 years of activity. This model can also be developed as a coagulated solution both for soft and hard skills, all with the purpose of delivering something new on the training market and easy to use and learn from.
Regarding the methodology of delivery of training there has been equal split among respondents who voted for online and offline courses, with nearly half opted (what does opted mean) additionally for handbooks. This is somewhat in line with our previous findings that people are looking for interactive ways of learning. On numerous occasions though, the respondents indicated all three options, showing rather strong willingness to learn (online course, or an offline option, real-life training or a handbook). Our recommendation for the training curricula developed through this project – to develop learning paths consisted of training modules that can be mixed, in order to allow participants to follow a certain path (become entrepreneur, grow/expand existing business, become business angel) or selectively choose certain skill they need at the moment. The list below – as proposed – relies strongly on the number of answers and on the categories we defined.

Proposed Soft skills training curricula:
1) Conflicts’ Management
2) Communication
3) Public Speaking
4) Change Management
5) Time Management
6) Emotional Intelligence
7) Negotiation – technics and tactics

Proposed Hard skills training curricula:
Starting the business from beginning
1) How to find business idea
2) Validation of business idea and entrepreneurial strength
3) Business model development
4) Business plan development
5) How to finance your business
6) How to open business (administration, legislation, ...)
7) What to do in first 100 days of business

How to grow/expand current business:
1) How to find business idea
2) Financial modelling and analysis
3) Project Management
4) Budgeting
5) Networking and networking technics
6) PR and Marketing strategies
7) Investor readiness training
8) Expanding to regional market
9) Advanced business models (subsidiaries, joint ventures, franchising, etc.)

Proposed Business Angels training curricula:
1) Business Angels ecosystem introduction
2) How to become Business Angel
3) Founding a Business Angel club
4) Investments and Legislation
5) How to perform due diligence and business valuation
6) How to structure a term sheet and contracts
7) Exit strategies

The listed above – once developed into trainings – would help any woman - entrepreneur and/or dreaming to become one – to make correct and informed decisions and personal and professional development and growth, as well as any aspiring business angel to support entrepreneur ecosystem.
We would also like to add a short list of particular needs, that were highlighted by the participants, and which we think should be taken into consideration in developing additional training components or modules to the main courses:

1) A set of tools or tips on how to overcome legislation issues - maybe some recommendation of specialists according to different subjects
2) Crowdfunding skills
3) HR courses
4) Business profiling
5) Business optimization
6) The management of emotions
7) Communication for Business – lobby, persuasion techniques.

The answers were relevant for some countries and not sufficient for others. Nevertheless, given the fact that we have regarded the overall need – we are confident we have proposed the most efficient and topnotch curricula.

by Péter Nyári