Support Policies for Business Start-ups and the Role of Training National Reports from France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and Synthesis Report

This publication contains four national studies, conducted in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, that collected data on the role of training as an element of support for business start-up and as an essential factor for the survival of newly established businesses. The study of the Spanish situation examines public and private bodies whose purpose is to encourage or support entrepreneurial initiatives. It outlines the history of the small and medium-sized enterprise over the last 10 years, examines failure rates and causes, and analyzes the profile of the new entrepreneur. The report on France examines instruments set up and managed by the government and local authorities over the past 10 years to encourage facilitating their access to resources. The report on the United Kingdom discusses the following topics: new enterprise creation, aid programs for start-up businesses, women's self-employment, training for business start-ups, and factors for success. The report on the Italian situation: (1) provides information on new business creation; (2) reviews national and regional measures that promote business creation; (3) describes available training for business creation; and (4) provides three successful cases of training for business creation: Law 44/86, the Umbria Integrated Manufacturing Program, and the Business Innovation Centre, Trieste. A synthesis report consists of four chapters dealing with the phenomenon of business creation, aid programs, courses offered by the training bodies, and the successful entrepreneur. (YLB)