Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial skills in Engineering Industries

1
Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial skills in
Engineering Industries

• By Dr. E. Read
• Business and Development Manager for Enterprise
  and Entrepreneurship

2
What was I looking for?

• Are Entrepreneurial skills SPECIFICALLY looked
  for by the company?
• Does the recruitment process look for
  entrepreneurial skills without the company
  acknowledging that this is what they are looking
  for?
• Do the companies feel that graduates are being
  suitably equipped by Universities for employment?

3
Company 1 General Information

• Their graduate program runs in Munich
• Great use of assessment centres
• Stated that they try to avoid entrepreneurs as
  they are afraid of extremes (R. Branson)
• No specific entrepreneurial qualities looked for
  (!)

4
Company 1

• Ability to communicate
• Analytical
• Team Work
• Self Sufficient
• Presentation of themselves

5
Ability to communicate

• Not just about a prepared presentation
• On-the-spot presentation
• Facilitate technical discussions
• Working under stress and time limits
• Answer questions in an articulate manner

6
Analytical

• Demonstrate good problem solving skills
• In a controlled and thoughtful manner
• Reviewing the initial problem and isolating it
• Thinking of a suitable solution
• Implementation of solution in a manner of least
  risk
• Do not want graduates who want to come in and
  broadcast change then DO nothing

7
Team Work

• Graduates must be able to work in a team and have
  good self knowledge of their strengths and
  weaknesses
• Make the most of a situation and read it with
  reasonable accuracy
• Tackle difficult situations e.g. two leaders in a
  group
• Pick up roles quickly - multifunctional

8
Self Sufficient

• Didnt want people to push for change, wanted
  them to work in a group yet needed them to be
  self sufficient
• React quickly to situations
• Judge thoughtfully
• Investigate in detail
• Formulate a suitable solution

9
Presentation of themselves

• Graduates often feel they need to be loud
  aggressive in their approach to a company
• They often appear scruffy
• Rude
• As if the company owes them a job over
  confident

10
Final Comment

• Graduates must learn to conform before they can
  fly !!

11
Company 2 General Information

• Their graduate program runs in UK
• Great use of assessment centres
• No specific entrepreneurial qualities looked for
  (!)

12
Company 2

• On-line assessment
• Interview
• Presentation
• Group Activity
• Role Playing
• Written Report

13
On-line assessment

• NO CONTACT WITH THE COMPANY
• Asked about hobbies, skills, examples of team
  work, leadership (Young Enterprise is
  specifically asked about)
• On-line maths and English test
• Up to 40 of applicants rejected at this stage

14
Assessment Centre

• Asked to the assessment centre via email to
  look at their response on email
• Attend the centre for 6-8 hours
• Groups of 7-8
• Up to 6 activities
• Not felt by the company that they looked for
  specific Entrepreneurial Characteristics

15
Interview

• Classical interview situation
• Panel interview experts in the field of job
  applied for
• Majority of academic abilities tested at this
  point
• Interview in the region of ½ hour (7 ½ hours to
  go!)

16
Presentation

• Not one prepared earlier on the spot
• Provided with white board, flip chart, computer
  etc
• Topic of a technical nature
• Reviewing engineering skills, presentation
  skills, working under pressure, response to
  questions and how they lead and facilitate a
  technical discussion

17
Group Activity (major part of the day)

• Divided into groups
• Each given a different role in the group
• Awarded their task
• Simulation changes each person receives
  different information some sensible some red
  herrings

18
What is being looked for?

• How the group works together?
• Can they apply academic knowledge to a real life
  situation?
• Do they understand human nature?
• Can they discover others strengths and
  weaknesses?
• Are they strong enough to allow their opinion to
  be heard?

19
Role Playing

• Individual basis
• Graduate asked to role play a difficult situation
  (e.g. Investigating an allegation of sexual
  harassment or racism)
• Looking at how the graduates react physically and
  verbally under pressure and how they may defend
  their team
• Tentative review of graduates business ethics

20
Written Report

• 2 page HAND WRITTEN report
• Showing their observations and reflections on the
  day
• It is expected to be of a business report
  standard and use business language
• It gives the graduates an opportunity to review
  mistakes and suggest what they would do
  differently

21
Final Comments

• Graduates try to play the system
• Graduate presentation raised again
• Graduates often had not looked at the website of
  the company
• University is undisciplined and as such so are
  the graduates

22
Company 2 - Summary
23
Company 2 Summary (2)
Business Manners
24
(No Transcript)
25
(No Transcript)
26
Company 2 - Summary
27
Company 2 Summary (2)
28
Company 1 Summary
29
Conclusions

• Often big organisations openly state that they do
  not want Entrepreneurs.
• When reviewing their graduate recruitment
  programs a direct correlation between a companys
  requirements of the graduate skills and the
  learning outcomes of entrepreneurial teaching can
  be seen.
• Companies, by the process of graduate recruitment
  are looking for graduates that will bring to
  their companies an entrepreneurial element in a
  controlled manner they are looking for
  Intrapreneurs those who have some
  entrepreneurial attributes but prefer the
  safety of secure employment or Graduates that
  are learning to conform before they can fly !!