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ENTERPRISE IN EDUCATION: SME SURVEY

CHAPTER FIVE : BARRIERS TO TAKING PART

5.1 Whilst it is encouraging that the research has identified both a willingness amongst existing contacts to expand their involvement and a willingness to be involved amongst some of those who have never been approached, there are nevertheless perceptual barriers to EinE that may prevent many businesses from participating. In this section of the report we are therefore primarily looking at the views expressed by those companies that have not been involved in EinE.

5.2 Considering firstly spontaneous reasons for not participating, Figure 5.1 below sets out the main responses obtained when those not participating were asked why they were not involved. A full set of responses obtained at this question, which was asked in two parts, is provided in Appendix 1 Figs A.1.17 & A.1.18.

Figure 5.1: Q16/17. Reasons why decided not to participate

Base: all non-participants, including those who had been approached previously

THE NATURE OF THE BUSINESS

5.3 Undoubtedly one of the key barriers to participation is the view that a business is 'not suitable' for pupils. Whilst not all respondents indicated specifically why their business was unsuitable, the reference to age limits, to health and safety, to dangers and to insurance, all suggest that many respondents believe there is some physical aspect to their workplace, or the materials within it, that make it inappropriate for pupils. Undoubtedly many of these concerns are genuine, and we know from those who are already involved, that meeting Health and Safety requirements is indeed something that needs to be undertaken.

5.4 On the other hand, there are misconceptions regarding Health and Safety. For example, some organisations wrongly assume that children will have to be involved "on the shop-floor" for work experience, as opposed to becoming involved with the administrative side of things: thus if an organisation is involved in a hazardous environment they presume they are not a suitable host.

5.5 Concerns that up to a day of staff time will have to be spent taking every new visitor through H&S regulations when they arrive, and concerns that they will have to seek dispensation from their insurance company were mentioned. The food industry in particular saw H&S as a real obstacle to overcome. New recruits need to pass a H&S certificate in order to work in food preparation, which was deemed not only to be too time consuming, but also to act as a 'repellent' to anyone entering the workplace as only very basic duties could be assigned prior to the certificate being gained.

"I am now not a butcher, I'm a secretary…there's so much paperwork involved now in opening the door" (NON-PARTICIPATING)

5.6 The key message from this is that any communication/marketing material that is developed to support and encourage EinE must address these Health and Safety issues; businesses require reassurance that Health and Safety need not necessarily prevent them from taking part.

"In terms of schools, yes, it would benefit us now…it is all the issues that go round it, like Health and Safety…what equipment can they use, supervision and risk assessments." (NON-PARTICIPATING)

SIZE

5.7 Size emerged as another key barrier to taking part. Size is a concern in terms of the space available, the number of staff available, and the amount of activity undertaken. Whilst all non-participants in the sample were SMEs, those with the least number of employees (i.e. less than 10), were, not surprisingly, most concerned about this aspect. However given that the vast majority of businesses in Scotland fall into this category, again this is a critical issue to tackle. To illustrate the perceived problems one respondent referred to a potential situation in an office of two people where if an advance set up meeting was arranged with the school but the other person was called away on business at the last minute, they would have to let the school down or miss out on the business opportunity. The latter was not deemed feasible as money could potentially be lost.

5.8 Importantly though, unsuitability of the business, and size certainly in terms of workspace, although less so with regard to staff numbers, are likely to be of most concern in the context of work experience. This, as we know from other measures, is the most familiar EinE activity. Indeed the same is true of the concern regarding lack of time: supervising a pupil during a week's work experience may be perceived as onerous, whereas a two hour visit to a school may be more appealing.

5.9 Strengthening awareness and interest in other types of EinE should therefore help to overcome these particular barriers.

LACK OF TIME

5.10 Further evidence of the importance of overcoming the 'lack of time' barrier was revealed when businesses that indicated they would not become involved were asked to select from four possible reasons why not (See Appendix 1, Fig A.1.22). Over a third (35%) indicated that was because "We/I am too busy".

5.11 In understanding the perception that businesses lack time, there is a need too, to understand the 'business mind set'. For SMEs time spent not working often deprives the company / staff of the income they need to survive: the opportunity cost involved in taking one day 'out of the office' can be significant. A morning spent taking a pupil through H&S or arranging an amendment to the company's insurance policy can be deemed an expensive distraction which could be someone else's responsibility. One respondent summed up this issue by showing the interviewer his certificate for "Make it in Scotland":

"That little cardboard basically represents, if you want, an investment of 900 plus VAT for my business partner and myself for spending one day….. two days of non earning." (PARTICIPATING)

LACK OF MOTIVATION

5.12 In addition, it was suggested that any scheme would need to recognise the constraints of SMEs. Although earlier evidence suggests that demotivated pupils may not be a reality for those participating, for non-participants this was a real concern. Some non-participating businesses mentioned that ideally pupils should choose the placement they go on: representatives from businesses / industries could visit schools and present what they do. Pupils could then choose a placement for work experience based on knowledge of what is involved and increasing the chance of matching pupils to placements

5.13 The constraints of being an SME mean that they have less capacity to deal with problems than say, a larger company or a public sector organisation.

"I think the schools would have to make a judgement about who's capable of working in the actual scheme… You get a kid who doesn't want to come in here and it affects your whole business." (NON-PARTICIPATING)
"…but what do we get out of it? Are we getting a useful person to help us with our daily business…if it's just purely to train then it's no use to us". (NON-PARTICIPATING)

5.14 The danger for EinE is that if the SME "business mindset" is not taken into account organisations will focus on the barriers to the scheme rather than the positive aspects. Hence demonstrating an understanding of how a SME operates - essentially addressing possible barriers head on - may well encourage sceptical organisations to take part in the scheme.

LACK OF EXISTING INVOLVEMENT

5.15 A further 16% at Q20 (slightly less than one in five) claimed that their main reason for not taking part was that they did not have any existing connection with a school or any previous knowledge of this sort of activity. This once again demonstrates the potential for schools, Local Authorities and Careers Scotland to expand the number of businesses involved by increasing their level of pro-activity, and moving away from the more ad hoc system which currently exists.

BARRIERS - SUMMARY

5.16 To provide a final measure on the extent to which various barriers are perceived, and therefore to give guidance of priority areas for action, all non-participants were asked to agree/disagree, using a four point rating scale, with a number of statements. Table 5.1 summarises the results obtained.

Table 5.1: Q21. Level of agreement with possible reasons why business not involved

Base: all non-participants (n=298)

5.17 The findings here reiterate several points made earlier, namely that small businesses consider that their size offers only limited opportunities and likewise where there is only a low number of employees having the time for additional activities can be difficult. In addition to size, concerns regarding Health and Safety are significant and widespread, and in line with this around two thirds of respondents agreed their business was not suited to school age children.

5.18 Whilst not an issue that emerged spontaneously, there is also evidence to suggest that there are concerns regarding the potential for a large amount of bureaucracy. Just over two thirds (70%) agreed that this was a possible reason for their non-involvement, and indeed just under half (45%) agreed strongly with this concern. By comparison fears regarding a lack of enjoyment amongst pupils are not widely held, and likewise most companies do not believe that they are already sufficiently involved with their local community. The majority also agreed that a lack of information might be inhibiting involvement (66%), although agreement was generally moderate rather than strong on this issue.

5.19 Whilst acknowledging the strength and conviction with which these barriers are perceived it is not clear on what basis these judgements are made. Non-participating organisations, for example, that claim they are too busy to get involved may not realise that attending a careers event may only take up a day, or a few hours of their time, and those saying there is no business advantage may not have considered or be aware of the benefits realised by others. Supporting literature for EinE that addresses possible barriers, articulates benefits to organisations and stresses that EinE is suitable for everyone would be an effective way of combating these information gaps.

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