A model of entrepreneurial career pathways
Conventionally, careers have been considered as pathways with a series of roles and progressions which include working largely as an employee. However for many people their career routes have included periods of self-employment and entrepreneurship. As working lives become more fragmented and people seek greater self-direction, we need to look at how entrepreneurial options can be chosen at different career stages. Schein (1993) proposed a career model with ten major stages, from childhood to retirement, and eight 'career anchors' or preferred career options, of which five could include aspects of entre¬preneurial management: entrepreneurial creativity; autonomy and independence; pure challenge; lifestyle; and general managerial competence
The demographic profile of the UK and other OECD countries displays an ageing population, in which more people will need to develop entrepreneurial capability to find new opportunities for economic activity or extending their working lives. This need for lifelong entrepreneurship is increasing as economic changes require an increasing proportion of the existing working population, from a broad social and demographic background, to be able to develop entrepreneurial skills at any stage of their career, and especially as they get older and employment opportunities may be less available. »
The UK GEM report for 2005 provides valuable statistics which indicate the scale of entre-preneurship at different career stages. The GEM survey uses the age ranges 16-24, 25-34, 35-44,45-54 and 55-64. The age bands between age 16 (the earliest age of joining the formal workforce in the UK) and 34 are considered to be ones of education and 'early career' forma¬tion and development, whilst the age ranges 35-44 and 45-54 define mid-career entrepreneur- ship, and over 55 can be considered to be 'third age'. Total entrepreneurial activity (TEA) is
highest in the 35^44 age group, at 7.9 per cent of the population, including 10 per cent of males and 5.5 per cent of females. This age group shows the highest level of confidence in opportunity availability and confidence in personal skills, which diminish slightly in the 45-54 age range, with potential entrepreneurs in these age ranges most likely to be qualified at first degree, A-level or vocational qualification levels (Harding et al, 2006).
Whilst younger age groups may be more likely in future to take entrepreneurial action, it is the groups in mid-career which are most likely to do so at present and constitute the largest proportion of the population engaged in entrepreneurial activity, whilst the proportion of the population in the 35-55 age group is growing more rapidly than the 16-34 age group. The lower proportion of female entrepreneurship indicates the need for continuing support and encouragement to enable women to develop their entrepreneurial potential, especially in mid-career. These findings are reinforced by Labour Market Survey analysis which identified that most of the increase in self- employment in the UK during 2002-3 could be attributed to the 35-49 and older age groups, with the proportion of self-employment in relation to the workforce increasing