Creativity and flexibility: essential skills in training learners for a potential entrepreneurial career

Abstract

Following an entrepreneurial career is a viable way out of the disconcerting problem of unemployment among the youth aged 15-34 in South Africa. The greatest challenge in resolving this predicament is the creation of more jobs, and entrepreneurship might offer a way towards this aspiration, but potential young entrepreneurs, many of who don't pursue tertiary education after leaving school, don't necessarily have the required education or training in entrepreneurship. Literature suggests that creativity and flexibility are among the essential skills needed for a successful entrepreneurial career. This research aimed to determine whether active learning in a business simulated set-up at secondary school level would enhance learners' creativity and flexibility competencies. These competencies of a specific group of grade 11 learners were tested before and after they had been exposed to an enriched Business Studies curriculum. Assessments were done quantitatively through a questionnaire based on different given scenarios, as well as qualitatively through observation and interviews. The findings revealed that this intervention enhanced these learners' entrepreneurial competencies regarding creativity and flexibility considerably. Implications are that real-world exposure in a business simulated set-up, has the potential to give birth to successful entrepreneurial careers and also contribute to an accelerated pace of economic growth and job creation.