Small enterprise and personnel training in Spain

Abstract

Small businesses account for 85 per 100 of Spanish business. They constitute the majority firm size in any European economy, being considered by the European Union (UE) as a catalyst for innovative business ideas, entrepreneurship, and learning and overcoming initial obstacles and failures, in the way of good management and success in business. For this purpose, the Union urges to the Member States to the need to encourage and facilitate the continuing training of small entrepreneurs, themselves as of their companies’ personnel, for continuous adaptation to the skills required by the market.

The central role that the EU has recognized to lifelong learning as an active employment policy («European Employment Strategy») has been completed with a process of periodic evaluation of the training situation in companies –also in small enterprises– through surveys that allow access to statistical data, not only useful for a comparative view between their countries members, but to analyze the evolution of the indicators in each of them.

In this paper, after defining the concept of micro and small enterprises with the criteria recommended by the EU, and identify the main factors characteristic of this group, we collect and analyze some data relevant to the European surveys, to frame the Spanish business training effort within the Union context. Following the trends observed we dedicate the final part of this study to more details about what is the vision and action of workers and small businessmen of our country about lifelong learning, and to verify how they have been modified.