In the context of this module, you will be introduced to the official European Competence Framework for education and training on entrepreneurial competences and what use you can make of it talking about Critical Thinking.

Although formally conceived to enhance, foster and sustain the entrepreneurial spirit(s) of EU citizens, the EntreComp Framework responses to a much broader landscape of needs and opportunities for employability and upskilling, i.e., long life learning (LLL) opportunities.

In other words, the EntreComp can be strategically referred to all domains of education and training as many of the competences listed by the framework are equally relevant and meaningful for professional career development, sense of initiative and self-reliability, development of soft-skill – including Critical Thinking.

To track the origins of the EntreComp Framework, we have to go back to December 2006: Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning

This policy document identifies eight key competences of interest to boost the excellence of LLL programmes implemented at EU level, and their overall responsiveness to the emerging social and economic challenges of the given historical period.

By the term competences, the European Parliament refers to:

“…a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the context. Key competences are those which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment”.

The aforementioned competences are the following:

1. Communication in the mother tongue
2. Communication in foreign language
3. Essentials in STEM disciplines
4. Digital Competences
5. Learning to learn
6. Social and civic competences
7. Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship
8. Cultural awareness and expression

Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship (LLL competence no.7) is described as the person’s ability to:

“…turn ideas into action [helping] individuals in the workplace in being aware of the context and [surrounding] opportunities”.

Furthermore, this same competence refers to:

“…the ability to identify available opportunities for personal, professional and/or business activities, including ‘bigger picture’ issues that provide the context in which people live and work, such as a broad understanding of the workings of the economy, and the opportunities and challenges facing an employer or organisation”.

From here, we can start seeing some clear linkages with what it is commonly understood as “Critical Thinking”, meaning:

“…the intellectually disciplined process of actively conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action”.

Source: Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, 1987.

In both contexts, we are referring to an ability/process in which, based on some inputs, people reacts by assigning meanings to what they experience and finetune their thoughts/actions accordingly.

The EntreComp Framework came exactly ten years after EU Parliament's recommendations.

Competence no.7 as we know it has been “splitted” into a three-dimension training areas including 15 competences – five for each area.

As of today, the EntreComp framework remains – together with DigComp and LifeComp – the most reliable and robust reference model for education and training at EU level

As we mentioned already, the EntreComp framework includes 15 competences divided equally among three training areas that are closely interrelated each other’s:

What follows…

In the context of this training module – and in consideration also of the underlying competences that we are dealing with – we will orientate your focus towards the first pillar, the one relating to IDEAS & OPPORTUNITIES.

Note that the EntreComp does not make specific reference to Critical Thinking, but the whole framework tackles Critical Thinking-related dimension from many different angles.

The most tangible cross reference appears to be with the competences belonging to IDEAS & OPPORTUNITIES. In the next unit we will go into further details on each one of them to as to track tangible connections with Critical Thinking, and most importantly, Critical Thinking at the use of employability.

Nowadays, as the automatization of tasks and functions is slowly replacing both “manual” an “intellectual” workforce, your opportunities to access the job market are increasingly depending on soft and relational skills.

Technical proficiency and effectiveness in the work place comes, firstly and foremost, from practices, exercise and experiences/lessons learned based on a trial-and-and-error approach. During interviews, employers do not have enough information to assess candidate profile’s and his/her potential performance in the workplace.

Furthermore, most of times the jobs you’re applying for requires specific knowledge/know-how that you might not have acquired during your formal education (simply because not included in the curricula).

So how do employers orientate their evaluation of your profile?...  

Employers are perfectly aware that new recruits – specifically if fresh graduates – requires in-depth education and training with focus on their future roles and responsibilities before being fully autonomous and independent.

During the first interview, rather than on what you can do, they will be seeking for other kind of information that might be not related at all to your education.

This kind of information, represents the very origin of the ESSENCE project and the assumptions on which it is rooted.

Back in 2016, the World Economic Forum predicted a major shift by 2020 in the “top 10 skills” for employability, recruitment, career development and business competitiveness.

According to the report, soft and relational skills are essential for new graduates and HE students to enter the job market as recruiters and employers develop new sophisticated models to assess the “human” profile of candidates (i.e., ability to work with others, sense of initiative, reliability and trustworthiness, etc.).