Skills for Work: Enterprise Venture
Enterprise venture is a 20 hour Skills for Work unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, in which learners generate ideas for a product or service, plan and present one, run it for real and evaluate it. It is one unit that learners combine with other 10 or 20 hour units into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Literacy runs through every outcome: discussing ideas, writing a plan, pitching, keeping a log and evaluating. Numeracy sits in setting and justifying a price, which the plan requires, and in budgets, sales records and simple market research data.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Four learning outcomes (share or discuss ideas for an enterprise activity, take part in planning and presenting the idea, take part in an enterprise activity, reflect on it), with separate assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Learners must take part in a real enterprise activity. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (generate and develop ideas for a product or service, plan and present an enterprise venture idea, carry out the venture, evaluate it), with separate assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Learners must take part in a real enterprise activity. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Calculation
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Setting and justifying a price
The key enterprise factors include what the price will be and why it has been set; a Level 1 plan must include some key factors and a Level 2 plan all of them, so pricing is required at Level 2. The amplification adds cost calculation, pricing strategies and value for money, and a discount at the end of the day is one suggested adaptation.
Numeracy: Financial literacy, Calculation, Logical reasoning
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils add up the cost of ingredients for a batch of 12 cakes and work out the cost of one cake.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a price of 50p and 80p for a cake, work out the profit on 30 cakes at each price and say which they would choose.
- Year 9
- Pupils set a price for a product from the unit cost, a competitor's price and a target profit, then work out the effect of a 20% end of day discount and justify their choice.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, assessment criteria 2.1 and 2.2, page 7; Amplification of LO2, key enterprise factors and the 5Ps, pages 10 and 11; Amplification of LO3, page 12
“Exploring basic financial concepts such as cost calculation, pricing strategies, and the relationship between price, quality, and value for money”
Progression step 3
I can make comparisons between prices and understand which is best value for money.
I can use profit and loss in buying and selling calculations.
I can add and subtract numbers using whole numbers and decimals.
Progression step 4
I can make informed decisions relating to discounts and special offers.
I can use efficient methods for multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimals, including decimals such as 0.6 or 0.06.
I can justify my procedures, predictions and conjectures.
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Budgeting and recording sales, stock and profit
The Level 1 and Level 2 amplification lists recording sales accurately to balance finances and tracking and managing stock, and the evaluation looks at whether the venture made a profit or stayed within budget. The criteria require using resources and reflecting on effectiveness, but the money records are examples in the amplification, so they are taught, not assessed.
Numeracy: Financial literacy, Calculation
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils count the money in a pretend till after a role-play sale and check it against a tally of items sold.
- Year 8
- Pupils keep a sales record for a class stall, add up takings, subtract costs and say whether they made a profit.
- Year 9
- Pupils plan a budget for a school event, track spending and sales in a table and compare the final profit with what they planned.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification of LO3, page 12; Amplification of LO4, page 13
“Money - whether the venture made a profit, stayed within budget, or offered good value”
Progression step 3
I can realise that budgeting is important.
I can plan and track money and savings by keeping accurate records.
I can add and subtract totals less than £100 using correct notation, e.g. £28.18 + £33.45.
Progression step 4
I can appreciate the basic principles of budgeting, saving (including understanding compound interest) and borrowing.
I can use efficient written methods to add and subtract numbers and decimals of any size, including a mixture of large and small numbers with differing numbers of decimal places.
Good to know
- The unit codes are S656E1, S656E2, S656E3, S656L1 and S656L2, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours in the Skills for Work suite (Unit overview, page 3).
- Learners must actually run something: "To achieve this unit, learners must take part in an enterprise activity." (Unit overview, page 3).
- Spelling and presentation are not judged: "Assessor judgements should focus on the meeting of standards, not on spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed." (Sources of evidence, page 14), and "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (page 14).
- Evidence can be spoken or recorded as well as written: "Reflection journals: written, audio, or video reflections" and "Pitch presentations" are listed (Sources of evidence, page 14).
- If not specified, "a plural reference within assessment criterion refers to a minimum of two" (pages 6 and 8).
- Suggested assessment tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- AI use must be acknowledged. Properly referenced AI use "can be acceptable", but "Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the learner's own work, analysis, evaluation or calculations" is malpractice (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- The pack names "Numeracy (budgeting, costs, pricing)" as a cross-curricular link (Unit overview, page 4), and Appendix A of the specification maps the unit to Literacy, Numeracy, Digital Competence and Creativity and innovation (page 29).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names links with VCSE Retail and Customer Service, the Foundation qualification in Retail and Customer Service and GCSE Business, which share pricing, costs, profit, marketing and serving customers. Costing, profit and survey data link with GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy, and pitching and writing promotional material with GCSE English Language and Literature. Making a product to sell can draw on GCSE Food and Nutrition or GCSE Design and Technology. The pack names Business finance, Teamwork, Sustainable economic development, Community participation, Customer service, Working in Wales, Personal development planning, Using IT in the workplace, Work experience and Ethical choices as related Skills Suite units, with Business finance sharing budgeting and pricing.
Source: WJEC Enterprise venture unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).