THE ROLE OF LIFELONG LEARNING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN CROATIA

The definition of entrepreneurship and when we think about it, we are mainly focused on the steps needed to start a business and the way we run it, its risks, and whether it brings us profit. The entrepreneur faces various challenges along the way, such as thinking about ways to finance his business, lack of funds, laws that open or limit the possibilities of realizing an idea, market fluctuations, economic crises, making good or bad business decisions. But entrepreneurship is much more than that, much more than the economic aspect and the values it brings to it, especially in the challenging and changing times we are in today. Every business entrepreneur starts with an idea, it is the fruit of creativity, innovation, imagination, desire, and need to achieve a certain goal and can begin to develop in the consciousness of the individual during preschool or at any time of education. Entrepreneurs are connected by a similar way of doing business and the necessary skills and knowledge, so entrepreneurial learning is an important element and support in the development of entrepreneurs. Although the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the Entrepreneurship Learning Strategy in 2014, there is room for improvement. The purpose of this paper is to explore and to give an overview of the role and impact of the importance of entrepreneurial learning, as well as an overview of what the Republic of Croatia has done so far in terms of entrepreneurial learning. It will also provide an overview of which segments and how it has implemented entrepreneurial learning in the Republic of Croatia so far, and what additional improvements are needed in the implementation of entrepreneurial learning in various segments and levels of education to further encourage and support more entrepreneurial ideas which ultimately leads to better competitiveness of the Croatian economy.