MEMO/06/285
Brussels, 17th July 2006
Enterprise Experience – example(s) and how it works
Enterprise Experience is a unique programme to give civil servants working in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enterprise & Industry practical and hands-on experience of life in a small or medium-sized enterprise (“SME”). This memo gives detailed information on the Enterprise Experience programme and lists some examples of training placements by Commission staff in SMEs.
Case studies
Bakery in Aachen
In DG EnterpriseChristian Macek is responsible for steering legislative proposalsof DG Enterprise through the European Parliament. For one week he exchanged his business suit for the outfit of a baker and started at 4 o’clock in the morning to help in the production of “Butterkuchen” and “Bauernbrot” in a bakery in Aachen. He was also confronted with bureaucracy and administrative burdens. A concrete example was the rather extensive documentation requirements for “Butterfett”. While talking to the owner of the company, he also the impression that one of the major problems for SMEs is differing implementation of legislation and rules,that can dependvery much on the authority and person that is responsible for the respective area.
Gas and oil extraction facilities
In DG Enterprise Valère Moutarlier is responsible for the environmental monitoring system GMES Bureau (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). He was hosted by a Polish SME specialising in the design, conception and modernisation of gas and oil extraction facilities and storage and transport installations for gas, oil and water.He had the possibility to have contact with all departments of the company and to better understand the impact of management methods and the use of ICT on the performance of the company. Through discussions with suppliers and customers, it became clear that the area of Poznan was benefiting from a cluster phenomenon between various local economic actors, sharing and fostering innovative approaches to strengthen their businesses.The growth of this family-owned SME has proved the company's capacity to modernise methods applied in its traditional activities, while diversifying towards new promising sectors and taking advantage of European regional funding opportunities.
Joiner's workshop
In DG Enterprise István Németh is responsible for administrative and policy coordination in the Directorate for promotion of SME's competitiveness. He had the chance to experience another type of coordination: the running of a family joiner in Kornelimünster producing high quality doors, portals and windows. He could follow closely not only the work of the management but also the production process in two production plants. Meetings with the local chamber and consultants of the firm gave an even better overview of the sector. During the discussions with the owner of the firm, the difficulties of operating cross-border and administrative burdens were pointed out as major problems for the firm. The week gave a good chance to present some of the Commission’s policy actions and the support network for SMEs: the Euro Info Centres.
How does the Enterprise Experience Programme work?
The following are the essential implementing steps:
- Selecting participating officials
In 'matching' trainees to companies, DG Enterprise will have in mind the following principles:
-As far as possible, trainees will visit companies in countries other than their country of origin. However, this principle will be applied with some flexibility, to ensure that language barriers do not prevent a productive interchange.
-Traineesshould be sentto countries across the EU, to ensure a balanced geographical coverage.
-So as to broaden the training experience, trainees will preferably visit a firm operating in a sector other than one for which they have direct responsibility in their normal work.
For this programme, DG Enterprise is working in close cooperation with three business organisations – UNICE (Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe), UEAPME (European Association of Craft, Small and Medium Seized Enterprises) and EUROCHAMBRES (Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry). It is these organisations (not the Commission) that will draw up the list of potential host companies.
- Preparing the visits
Once a trainee has been assigned to a host company; DG Enterprise, in co-operation with the corresponding business organisation, will contact the company in order to fix the dates and the detailed programme for the visit.
A successful visit needs careful preparation - of both the participating official and of the host company:
i)DG Enterprise will therefore ensure that participating officials have a good awareness of relevant EU policies (particularly those affecting SMEs)
ii)Host companies will be asked to provide information on their business and the business environment in which they operate, to enable the trainees to prepare their visit.
iii)Well in advance of the visit, the firm will receive full information about the CV of the visiting official and about practical arrangements (travel information, etc.). Whenever possible, arrangements will be made to ensure participation of the officials in other events that complement the programme’s objective.
- Content of the training visit
There is no set format for the training visit. During their time with the company the trainees could do some or all of the following: shadowing key personnel; participation in the day-to-day work of the company; realisation of a specific project. The important thing is that the visit should give the trainee exposure to the various activities of the company, and an awareness of the circumstances, concerns and opportunities of an SME.The Commission aims to keep the administrative burden of the visits to the host companies to the minimum.The action will be financed from the DG Enterprise’s training budget. There is no cost to the participating official or to the host firm.
Even if the training is only one week, trainees will be able to provide the host companies with useful assistance in their work. Trainees will be available to explain and present to the host companies and to the local business community EU policies of importance to business.
Within two weeks of the visit, the host firms will receive a letter of thanks from DG Enterprise, which will also ask the host company to give feedback on the visit.
Participants will be expected to provide a written report within three weeks after their visits. This will be supplemented by a questionnaire to be completed six months later, on the impact the training has had on his/her daily work.
Once a year, a workshop with participating officials and representatives from the partner business organisations will take stock of the experiences and discuss how Enterprise Experience can be improved.
More detailed information is to be found