Читать книгу How to Find Work in the 21st Century - Ron McGowan - Страница 15

The workplace of the twentieth century, up until about the 1970s, was dominated by large companies. This changed in the 1980s and ’90s to the point where, for years now, the vast majority of jobs and work opportunities are created by small businesses. Small today could mean a single operator who has expanded to the point where he or she needs an extra body on a full-time or part-time basis.

This shift has many repercussions for today’s workers, especially those who have lost their jobs with medium to large, well-established companies. Whether the shift is positive or negative is all over the map depending on how informed the individual is about the workplace and how well they’ve positioned themselves to survive in it.

Many of today’s small-business owners were formerly full-time employees in large companies who decided that self-employment made more sense for them than looking for another full-time job. Also, more young people coming out of college or university are starting their own businesses than at any other time in the past. According to a May 2005 Ipsos-Reid poll, 40 percent of Canadian college and university students would like to be their own bosses by becoming entrepreneurs or consultants.

In the US, according to a New York Times article on May 1, 2008, over 2,000 colleges and universities are now offering courses in entrepreneurship, up from 253 institutions in 1985. The article pointed out that many colleges have turned to active or retired business owners rather than academics to teach these courses. It also pointed out that some people see a strong liberal arts education as a foundation for success in these courses and that entrepreneurship in business schools is often too narrowly focused.