1. Small enterprises & employment
Dr. Harm van Lieshout

2. A healthy working life in a healthy business
Providing employment is a key contribution of SMEs
In particular in the North Netherlands
Healthy Ageing key sector for Economic Policy in North Netherlands
Centre of Applied Labour Market Research
‘The Labour Market in the Energy Port Groningen Region’
‘Healthy Ageing & Work’
Small enterpises and employment

3. The firm: a succesful coordination mechanism
Williamson: markets and hierarchies:
firms are literally born from the costs of doing business
work organisation requires more than spot-market labour contracts
different varieties of capitalism share the firm as its core coordination mechanism
Entrepreurship has gained social status since the 1970s
became a focus of Dutch (higher) education over the last decade, such as our Consortium for Valorisation and Entrepreneurship (CVO) Groningen
Small enterpises and employment

4. Policy paradoxes?
SMEs are considered important for employment, in particular in the North Netherlands
Emerging sectors start with SMEs
of course, the hope of economic policymakers is that firms will become big rather than remain small
SMEs are considered to be reluctant employers, in particular in the Netherlands
two year liability for sick workers;
changes in dismissal law means no more free lay-offs
Small enterpises and employment

5. A little help from my friends
Economic succes requires more than individual firms
i.e. Southern Germany (associations), Italian Industrial Districts (networks)
States again adopting economic policy (sector selection)
Triple helix thinking has added education as a partner in this field
i.e. EnTranCe, Health Hub Roden, BuildInG
Understanding small enterprises implies understanding multi-level (labour) market governance
Small enterpises and employment

6. Understanding Small Enterprises
Understanding SMEs is essantial to our aspired succes as an economic partner
Small entprises are not small big enterprises, and differ substantially among them
ie., they do not neccarily want to grow
The key ingredient to our help from education remains the education of a new highly skilled generation of workers … and entrepreneurs
Entrpreneurs do not necessarily want to be employers, and are not necessarily good at it.
But to ensure a healthy life in a healthy business, they need to be
Small enterpises and employment

7. So let’s share our talent at understanding small enterprises and move the world