Entrepreneurship Hindered by Fear of Failure

This reader's opinion piece in Helsingin Sanomat sounds an alarm about Finland's declining performance in entrepreneurship education. Once a global leader, the nation has slipped in international rankings, a trend the author, Sanna Lehto, views as a clear message to policymakers: progress has stalled precisely where crucial attitudes, courage, and a sense of agency are cultivated.

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Suomen pudotus yrittäjyyskasvatuksen kärkipaikalta on selvä viesti päättäjille.

The piece acknowledges that Finland's educational infrastructure is robust, with entrepreneurship integrated into curricula and strategies. However, it argues that this education often remains confined to classrooms, projects, or the dedication of individual teachers. This theoretical approach is insufficient. Entrepreneurship, the author contends, is learned through doing – through interaction with the working world, encountering real entrepreneurs, solving actual problems, and engaging in activities with tangible relevance outside the school gates.

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Nyt sijoitus on kuudes. Pudotus ei ole romahdus, mutta se on selvä viesti päättäjille: kehitys on pysähtynyt juuri siellä, missä asenteet, rohkeus ja toimijuus rakentuvat.

A key concern raised is the pervasive fear of failure, which the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report highlights as a particularly strong impediment in Finland. This fear, Lehto suggests, stems from schools not adequately creating environments that allow for experimentation and learning from mistakes. Without systematic involvement from the business community and entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship education risks becoming an abstract concept, failing to translate into concrete action.

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Kiinnostusta ja ideoita on, mutta ne eivät muutu toiminnaksi.

Lehto calls for a decisive shift, moving beyond isolated initiatives to a systematic reform. This requires political will, strategic decisions at the municipal level, and clear accountability for integrating entrepreneurship education into the daily fabric of schooling, in partnership with the business world. The decline in rankings is framed not as a disgrace, but as a wake-up call. If Finland does not ambitiously reform its approach and foster a genuine collaboration between schools and the business sector, it risks raising a generation with potential but lacking the courage to act upon it. This perspective reflects a deep concern within Finland about nurturing future innovators and business leaders.

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Yrittäjyys ei synny puhumalla siitä, vaan tekemällä – ja tätä tekemistä koulu ei voi rakentaa yksin.