The modern world is characterized by rapid international change. That is also why the ability to develop is vital for any entrepreneur and business. The current challenge of entrepreneurship education is to enhance the attributes and behavior of an entrepreneurial person. According to Kirby (2007) people not just have to know how to create new ventures or to have the functional tools for that, but are to be equipped with a set of attitudes and competencies which enable them to perceive opportunities and bring them into fruition. This means that technical knowledge, practical skills, positive attitudes and an ability to develop the business further are all required when successful entrepreneurship is concerned. This challenge is aspired to be met by various types of entrepreneurship education programmes. It surely is a challenge also for the more traditional and most common type of entrepreneurship education (Honig 2004; Liñán 2007) which has its focus on elaboration of a business plan. The utilization of intention models (e.g. Ajzen 1991; Krueger, Reilly & Carsrud 2000; Boyd & Vozikis 1994) has been frequent in research of entrepreneurship education outcomes. Intentions have been examined through changes in attitudes towards and perceptions and beliefs on entrepreneurial behavior. The most commonly used outcome measurement is measurement through the number of new ventures and entrepreneurs, which is favoured because of its concreteness and relative easiness (Entreva.net 2006). Measurement of intentions and number are however not able to describe the improvement of quality of entrepreneurship. This study aims to give its contribution to the discussion of quality of entrepreneurship. It does it by examining the improvement of quality of entrepreneurship through personal learning outcomes gained in entrepreneurship education. The aim of this study is to examine what kind of knowledge, skills and abilities the widely used business plan based entrepreneurship education is able to generate. Furthermore, the ability of this type of education to respond to the multiple demands currently imposed on entrepreneurship education and the determination of the education target groups are also taken into consideration.

This paper discusses the personal learning outcomes of entrepreneurship education based on survey data gathered from Finnish Further Qualification for Entrepreneurs graduates at the end of 2007. The prime method is explorative factor analysis (n = 177). Sum variables grounded on factors are also utilized.

Based on this study, the impacts of the programme on the personal learning outcomes can be divided into four categories: Entrepreneurial encouragement, Management skills, Working life key skills and Development orientation. In general, the Further Qualification for Entrepreneurs study programme has had a fairly positive effect on graduates’ entrepreneurial skills and abilities. The programme has had the equivalent and most positive effect on entrepreneurial encouragement and on management skills. It has had a somewhat less, but still rather positive effect on working life key skills. It has been able to affect the least on the development orientation of the graduates. Moreover, the results highlight the relevance of students’ entrepreneurial experience in connection with entrepreneurship education. Graduates who had acquired personal experience as entrepreneurs before their current businesses had more positive opinions on the usefulness of preparing a business plan than those who were novices in entrepreneurship.