From a governmental perspective, maintaining an economic area in global competition does not only mean to have access to the newest technology and creating the right atmosphere and legal framework for innovation und entrepreneurship education but also to support adults and young adults with low levels of skills and qualifications in accessing new learning opportunities and reskilling and upskilling their competences. According to the European Commission (2021, p. 14) “in 2019, 21.6 % of adults (aged 25-64) in the EU – 51.5 million people – had not completed upper secondary education (ISCED 3; EQF 3 or 4). Of these, 12.5 million left the education system with less than lower secondary education”. Moreover, across all EU Member States, the proportion of adults (aged 25-64) without upper secondary education is higher among adults born outside the country of residence (foreign-born) than among adults born in the country (34.1% vs. 19.6% in 2019; ibid, p. 32). Considering that retraining and upskilling adults in precarious employment is a high priority for the European Commission until 2030 (ibid, p. 30), and assuming that not all adults are willing or able to upgrade their educational qualifications, entrepreneurship can be central to socio-economic integration processes as it can provide access to better jobs (ILO 2018) or help to earn a living, achieve a better social status and have a smoother transition into the labour market (Alexandre-Leclair 2014). Therefore, participation in entrepreneurship education (EE), as distinct in many ways from general education, could unlock skills in vulnerable groups and enable them to identify new opportunities and lead empowered lives in one’s given or new social contexts. It is noteworthy that many of the marginalised groups, especially the newcomer refugees and immigrants, possess valuable entrepreneurship skills as they were already familiar with running a business in their own country. These existing skills and social inclusion need to be harnessed in host countries through meaningful policies, programmes and strategies all the more as they contribute to the economic and social development of their region. While entrepreneurship in general is considered "one of the strongest drivers of job creation worldwide and has a powerful impact on economic growth and political stability" (Bohoney 2011), our research shows that there is a lack of research on entrepreneurship education and vulnerable groups, as most policies, interventions and projects target the highly skilled, as higher levels of education and experience are correlated to higher rates of success (Van der Sluis et al., 2006). Furthermore, our research in SIATE has shown that non-connected networks and EU projects, welfare systems and institutionalised barriers are also impediments to the participation of vulnerable adults in EE. With the creation of ENTNET (European Network for Entrepreneurship in Adult Education) we hope to go beyond the duration of the funded project and create meaningful networks and support for vulnerable groups and their participation in EE. At this point we will also problematise the challenges we face in building ENTNET and the implications for longevity and accountability beyond the funding period.

This presentation focuses on the preliminary results of the three-year Erasmus+ project SIATE "Social Inclusion of Adults through Entrepreneurship", with particular emphasis on the creation, establishment and sustainability of ENTNET as well as the collaboration between partners. The data shows the importance of developing long-term meaningful networks, strategies and tools for vulnerable marginalised groups such as adults with low qualifications, early school leavers, job seekers, migrants and refugees, and NEETs (people not in employment, education or training).

The SIATE project aims to achieve three objectives: 1) facilitate the development of local and national networks, in particular the creation of an European Network for Entrepreneurship in Adult Education (ENTNET). 2) to empower marginalised groups such as low-skilled and immigrant adults, who are particularly in need of social inclusion, by 3) producing appropriate entrepreneurship educational tools, materials and policy briefs. The Entrepreneurship Education (EE) model developed in the project is based on 25 policy templates compiled by the partner institutions involved in the project (e.g. Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Germany and Italy). Three central key elements have emerged in the development of the EE model: multi-level governance, socio- cultural and economic dimensions and individual factors or entrepreneurial mindset. ENTNET was established to continue the activities of the SIATE ERASMUS+ project. In this section we will present the process of setting up ENTNET and the involvement of the partners in the different phases of the project: from the creation of the EE model framework to ENTNET and the policy papers.

Alexandre-Leclair, L. (2014). Diversity as a motive for entrepreneurship? The case of gender, culture and ethnicity. Journal of Innovation Economics & Management, 157-175. Bohoney J (2011) The entrepreneurship toolkit: Successful approaches to fostering entrepreneurship. Washington, USAID, Economic Growth and Trade European Education and Culture Executive Agency (2021). Adult education and training in Europe Building inclusive pathways to skills and qualifications. Retrieved from: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/827fcd9c-1a8c-11ec-b4fe-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-232128473 Van Der Sluis, J., Van Praag, C.M. & Vijverberg, W. (2006). “Entrepreneurship selection and performance: a meta-analysis of the impact of education in less developed countries”, World Bank Economic Review, 19(3) 1-37