Development of entrepreneurial competencies through informal education

The study investigates the entrepreneurial competencies and intentions of students. Their formation is a requirement of modern times. The question arises whether students of modern technical universities get entrepreneurial competencies and whether they transform these competencies into their entrepreneurial intentions. More than 3.6 thousand students from six technical universities from Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Lithuania were surveyed. Methods of summarizing and grouping data, analysis of the structure of the population and distributions of its elements, evaluation of relationships were used to analyze the results of the survey. It was found that studying at technical universities is not an obstacle to the existence of entrepreneurial intentions among students. The respondents positively assessed their ability to recognize market opportunities for new business (the sum of the shares of positive answers exceeded the sum of the shares of negative answers by 12.4%). A positive generalized assessment was determined when assessing the ability to persuade others to invest in their business, while negative – their ability to write a formal business plan. It is proved that students who highly value their entrepreneurial abilities are much more likely to show the intention to start their own business (р < 0.001). Students’ focus on starting their own business is partly explained by the fact that they connect employment in corporations with a low guarantee of job retention. High positive integrated assessments received the following advantages of own entrepreneurship: prestige (0.302), chance to be realized (0.362), and the ability to create jobs (0.597).

Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank Denislava Yordanova (Sofia University, Bulgaria), Tatjana Nikitina (Riga Technical University, Latvia), and Daiva Jurevičienė (Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania) for helping to collect data at respective countries.

The need to choose the best ways to implement corporate training processes in extreme conditions determines the relevance of research. The adaptation of traditional learning tools to distance learning using various methods and training programs is relevant. The aim is to determine the optimal digital tools (software and online platforms) for the successful implementation of the corporate training process in a remote format in the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and martial law in Ukraine. The main approaches to the implementation and conduct of distance corporate training are considered and the need for its proactive management is highlighted. The study summarizes the types of training, vocational training methods, the main factors influencing distance learning, and online training platforms. The survey highlighted current trends in the use of distance learning in Ukrainian business practice and its effectiveness. The survey results made it possible to draw a conclusion about the current role of distance personnel learning in business practices, as well as to determine the priority of forms of training and means of its implementation. The data obtained confirm that most companies in modern world are focused on retaining staff and maintaining their high skills to improve efficiency and conserve human resources even during a pandemic and war. Digital distance learning tools should be increasingly used in the corporate training and development system.