PR.I.ME
PromotingIntergenerationallearninginMEditerraneancountries
II-B/4.2/0219–ENPICBCMedPROGRAMME
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseof
potentialusers
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Legalnotice
ThisdocumenthasbeenproducedwiththefinancialassistanceoftheEuropeanUnion(EU)underthe
ENPICBCMediterraneanSeaBasinProgramme.
ThecontentsofthisdocumentarethesoleresponsibilityofthePRIMEproject’sconsortium,andcan
under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union or of the
Programme’smanagementstructures.
The 2007-2013 ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme is a multilateral Cross-Border
CooperationinitiativefundedbytheEuropeanNeighbourhoodandPartnershipInstrument(ENPI).The
ENPIProgrammeisfundedbytheEuropeAidDevelopmentandCooperationOffice.
TheProgrammeobjectiveistopromotethesustainableandharmoniouscooperationprocessatthe
Mediterranean Basin level by dealing with the common challenges and enhancing its endogenous
potential.
Itfinancescooperationprojectsasacontributiontotheeconomic,social,environmentalandcultural
developmentoftheMediterraneanregion.
Thefollowing14countriesparticipateintheProgramme:Cyprus,Egypt,France,Greece,Israel,Italy,
Jordan,Lebanon,Malta,PalestinianAuthority,Portugal,Spain,Syria,Tunisia.
TheJointManagingAuthority(JMA)istheAutonomousRegionofSardinia(Italy).OfficialProgramme
languagesareArabic,EnglishandFrench.
TheEuropeanUnionismadeupof27MemberStateswhohavedecidedtograduallylinktogether
theirknow-how,resourcesanddestinies.Together,duringaperiodofenlargementof50years,they
have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural
diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its
achievementsanditsvalueswithcountriesandpeoplesbeyonditsborders.
More information on the PRIME project and consortium is available on the Internet (http://
www.enpi-prime.eu).
ORCID: 0000-0003-2233-7571
Reproductionisauthorisedprovidedthesourceisacknowledged.
Contents
Backgroundandcontext.........................................................................................................................2
Aimsandtoolsoftheevaluation............................................................................................................3
Mainresults............................................................................................................................................3
Backgroundandcontext
The PRIME project aims at supporting the intergenerational learning and business
transfer in the Gold/Silversmith and Gemmology sector. The project encourages crossfertilisation amongst regional identities by fostering professionalism of younger
generations and clustering talents at the Mediterranean Basin level.
In essence, the project’s main benefit is that it will contribute to the survival and
development of a greater number of family businesses in the concerned regions, and as a
pilot model to be replicated in other regions.
The project beneficiaries fall into three major groups:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
new or aspiring young entrepreneurs, who will benefit from the technical
assistance and the mentoring workshops and from the cumulative experience of
senior entrepreneurs and partners’ organisations;
family-owned SMEs that implement the model;
various groups of interest that will be able to establish and maintain more
beneficial relationships owing to the professionalization that the new or aspiring
young entrepreneur family SMEs will undergo.
These groups of interest are those persons or organizations involved directly or indirectly
with the family businesses, including: rating agencies, trade associations, researchers,
teachers, chamber of commerce, and local and regional authorities. The business
community will benefit from the dissemination activities planned for WP2 of this project as
well as from the project results and findings of the research carried out during the different
stages of the project. In the latter groups are also partner organisations.
PR.I.ME is coordinated by the Roman Institute for the Entrepreneurial Training – IRFI, Italy
(Lazio) with the participation of the following organizations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Private Vocational Training Institute - MOKUME, Kentriki – Makedonia and Attiki
(Greece);
OMEGA Technology, Attiki (Greece);
Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon –
BML (Lebanon);
Business Incubation Association in Tripoli – BIAT (Lebanon);
Notre Dame University – Louaize – NDU, (Lebanon);
Jewellery Technology Centre – JTC, al-Iskandariyah (Egypt).
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Main expected results are:
1. Transferable mentoring schemes for intergenerational learning developed
2. Core skills in the silversmith, goldsmith and gemmology sectors transferred
3. Tools for analysis of skills gaps and toolkit for implementing and evaluating
mentoring schemes developed
4. Awareness of the challenges faced by family business increased
Aimsandtoolsoftheevaluation
A survey was designed to collect feedback from mentors. It also asks mentors to report if
they have made, or plan to make changes to their mentoring practice due to the mentoring
experience. The questionnaire takes 10-15 minutes to complete.
Mainresults
Most of mentors who participated in the survey, 92 per cent, were male (Figure 1).
Figure 1- Mentors survey: Distribution of respondents per gender (%)
8%
92%
male
female
Actually the 83 per cent of the mentors who participated in the PRIME project were
male (Table 1)
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Table 1 – Distribution of mentors per gender (Number)
mentors
F
M
Total
7
35
42
The 40 - 49 is the most represented age group among respondents and only 16 per cent
of mentors who participated in the survey were less than forty years old (Figure 2).
Figure 2- Mentors survey: Distribution of respondents per age (%)
30- 39years
40- 49years
17%
50- 59years
60+
16%
17%
50%
The mentors who participated in the survey are well educated: half of respondents have a
bachelor degree, 8,33 per cent has a master’s level or above, and the 33,34 per cent has
secondary education (Table 2).
Table 2 – Distribution of interviewed mentors per highest level of education (%)
Highestlevelofeducation
uppersecondaryqualificationwithoutuniversity
access
uppersecondaryqualificationwhichallows
universityaccess
postsecondarybelowbachelorlevel:nonuniversity
highereducation
bachelor'slevel:lowerleveluniversitydegree
master'slevelandabove
%
8,33%
16,67%
16,67%
50,00%
8,33%
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
The 91,67 per cent of mentors worked less of than ten days with the mentee. Only the 8,33
per cents of mentors signed a mentorship agreement with the mentee and the mentorship
agreement specified the mentoring objectives. A mentoring agreement should specify at
least the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
mentoring scheme objectives;
mentoring scheme activities;
mentee's expectations;
mentor's expectations;
mentoring scheme duration;
mentoring scheme scheduling (when and where mentee and mentor meet each
other);
person responsible for scheduling the meetings;
ground rules for your discussions e.g., confidentiality, openness, candor, truthfulness
etc.;
ground rules for problems resolutions.
Helping mentee explore and plan his/her career was the objective mostly included in the
mentoring plan (91,67 per cent), followed by supporting intergenerational business transfer
(58,33 per cent), and offering mentee the opportunity of acquiring new knowledge and
skills by understanding their practical experience (41,67 per cent). Full description of
mentoring plan objectives is reported in Table 3. It should be noted that respondents could
select up to three option.
Table 3 – Distribution of interviewed mentors per highest level of education (%)
Mentoringplanobjective
%
Helpmenteeexploreandplanhis/hercareer
91,67%
Developmentee'sawarenessofhis/herstrengthsandweaknessesasbusinessowner
inthejewelrysector
16,67%
Developmentee'sawarenessofhis/herstrengthsandweaknessesasworkerinthe
jewelrysector
25,00%
Gainagreaterawarenessofopportunitiesandactivitiesthatcanexpandmynetwork
8,33%
Offermenteetheopportunityofacquiringnewknowledgeandskillsbyunderstanding
yourpracticalexperience
41,67%
Helpmenteedevelopabusinessplan
50,00%
Supportintergenerationalbusinesstransfer
58.33%
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Almost half of all mentors responding (41,66 percent) were currently involved with the
matching process (Figure 3).
Figure 3- Methods of mentees’ assignment (%)
8%
Ichoosethementee
33%
Thementeehasbeen
assignedtome
Itwasacombinationof
both
59%
The 91,66 per cent of respondents rated the matching good or very good. All mentors
considered optimal the duration of the mentoring and successful the mentoring
relationship.
Meeting between mentors and mentee were mostly unplanned (Figure 4).
Figure 4- Meetings between mentors and mentees (%)
17%
yes
no,butunplannedmeetings
orencounterswereeasy
andoccurred
83%
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Main activities carried out by mentees were evaluating new business options/planning
followed by product innovation or development, and market research or marketing. A full
description of activities carried out by mentees is described in Table 4.
Table 4 – Main mentees’ tasks during mentoring (%)
Activity
VeryOften
QuiteOften
Occasionally
Never
Evaluatingnewbusiness
options/planning
58.33%
33.33%
8.33%
0.00%
Meetingcustomers/acquisition
25.00%
8.33%
33.33%
33.33%
Meetingsuppliers/purchasing
16.67%
25.00%
25.00%
33.33%
Marketresearch/marketing
58.33%
16.67%
25.00%
0.00%
Production/operation
58.33%
25.00%
8.33%
8.33%
Productinnovation/development
58.33%
25.00%
8.33%
8.33%
Participatinginfairsandconferences
16.67%
0.00%
50.00%
33.33%
Administrativetasks
58.33%
16.67%
25.00%
0.00%
Improvingmybusinessplan
66.67%
16.67%
16.67%
0.00%
Other(pleasespecify)
58.33%
0.00%
0.00%
41.67%
Mentees spent most of the time completing a special one-time project, job-shadowing,
and in telephone conversations (Table 5).
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Table 5 – Time spent by the mentee spend on the different activities during mentoring: 0 = no
time spent on the activity - 100 = all time spent on the activity (%)
Task
Mean
StdDeviation
jobshadowing(followingand
watchingyourmentoratwork)
42.58
28.71
assistingmentor'sstaffinthe
dailyworkroutine
37.00
29.49
meetingwithmymentorat
his/herworkplace
42.33
23.58
telephoneconversations
44.92
26.62
emailorsocialnetwork
conversations
44.75
23.85
completingaspecialone-time
project(pleasedescribeshortly)
52.92
26.33
The 91,67 per cent felt that mentoring relationship fully met your objectives, needs,
expectations (Figure 5).
Figure 5- Mentors satisfaction (%)
8%
fullymet
partlymet
92%
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Mentors shared with mentee their entrepreneurial experience and know how, gave the
mentee advice on his/her business project, and I shared their knowledge about startups
(Table 6).
Table 6 – Mentor’s support to mentee during mentoring (%)
Item
VeryMuch
Quitealot
Notverymuch
Notatall
Isharedmy
entrepreneurial
experienceandknow
how
83.33%
16.67%
0.00%
0.00%
Igavethementee
concrete
responsibilities
66.67%
16.67%
16.67%
0.00%
Igavethementee
adviceonhis/her
businessproject
58.33%
33.33%
8.33%
0.00%
Isharedmy
knowledgeabout
startups
66.67%
25.00%
8.33%
0.00%
Ihelpedthementee
tofeelintegratedin
mycompany
75.00%
8.33%
16.67%
0.00%
Other(pleasespecify)
50.00%
8.33%
0.00%
41.67%
More than half of respondents intend to stay in touch with their mentee but not on any
particular matter; 8,33 per cent intends to stay in touch and help the mentee develop
his/her business project and 16,67 per cent intend to engage in business cooperation
Nevertheless 16,67 per cent is not sure whether he/she would stay in touch with my mentee
(Table 7).
Half of respondent intend to engage in a joint venture with the mentee while the others
intend to cooperate in the supply / purchase of goods or services.
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Table 7 – Mentor’s plan after mentoring (%)
Item
%
Iamnotlikelytoremainintouchwithmymentee
0.00%
IamnotsurewhetherIwillstayintouchwithmymentee
16.67%
Iintendtostayintouchwithmymenteebutnotonanyparticularmatter
58.33%
IintendtostayintouchandIwillhelphim/herdevelophis/herbusinessproject
8.33%
Iintendtoengageinbusinesscooperation
16.67%
Mybusinesswillbetransferredtohim/her/hasbeentransferredtohim/her
0.00%
Mentors’ perception of the program is highly positive: the 91,67 per cent of respondents
would recommend the program to his/her friends or colleagues (Figure 6).
Figure 6- Propensity to promote the program to friends and colleagues (%)
8%
yes
no
92%
The 75 per cent would consider hosting another mentee in the framework of this
programme in the future. Mentors not inclined to host another mentee mostly felt they did
not get proportionate returns compared to his/her invested efforts and that dealing with
the mentee costed him/her a lot of valuable time (Table 8).
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Table 8 – Mentors’ reasons of negative propensity to host a mentee in the future (%)
False
NeitherTruenor
False
True
Dealingwiththementeehascostmealotof
valuabletime
33.33%
0.00%
66.67%
Thementeedidnothaveenoughunderstanding
ofbusinessmatters
100.00%
0.00%
0.00%
Thementeedidnotshowenoughcommitment
66.67%
33.33%
0.00%
Lackofsupportbythepromotingorganisation
66.67%
33.33%
0.00%
Ididnotgetproportionatereturnscomparedto
myinvestedefforts
33.33%
0.00%
66.67%
Question
All mentors consider that a larger number of mentees to choose from and more emphasis
on motivation when selecting the mentees of mentees are needed to improve the program.
Others important area to be addressed are:
•
•
•
•
More emphasis on entrepreneurial attitude when selecting the mentees
Better preparation of mentee before starting mentoring
Better support to mentors during mentoring
Two level of mentoring: basic and advanced, depending on the preparation of the
juniors and on their motivations and expectations.
All suggested areas of improvement are reported in Table 9.
Table 9 – Mentors’ reasons of negative propensity to host a mentee in the future (%)
Very
Important
Quite
Important
NotVery
Important
Unimportant
Alargernumberofmenteestochoose
from
50.00%
50.00%
0.00%
0.00%
Moreemphasisonmotivationwhen
selectingthementees
33.33%
66.67%
0.00%
0.00%
Moreemphasisonbusinessexperience
whenselectingmentees
33.33%
33.33%
33.33%
0.00%
Question
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers
Moreemphasisonentrepreneurial
attitudewhenselectingthementees
58.33%
25.00%
16.67%
0.00%
Moreemphasisonqualityofthe
businessplanwhenselectingthe
mentees
58.33%
8.33%
25.00%
8.33%
Improvethementor/mentee
matchmakingprocess
50.00%
25.00%
25.00%
0.00%
Betterpreparationofmenteebefore
startingmentoring
41.67%
41.67%
16.67%
0.00%
Morecomprehensiveinfotomentor
beforementoring
41.67%
25.00%
33.33%
0.00%
Bettersupporttomentorsduring
mentoring
58.33%
25.00%
16.67%
0.00%
Other
58.33%
0.00%
0.00%
41.67%
Mentors were asked about any other support from the program which would have been
more suitable, many clients mentioned funding, specific support and training, and access
to contacts or networks.
D3.1Reportonidentificationandanalysisofenlargedbaseofpotentialusers