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 Purpose
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Pitching the idea to an audience
Learners show their idea to another person at Entry 1 and describe it at Entry 3; at Level 1 they present the idea and key enterprise factors using a planned method, and at Level 2 they do so clearly and effectively. The presentation is required; tailoring it to the audience and handling questions are suggested strategies in the amplification.
Literacy: Clarity and vocabulary, Purpose
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils hold up a poster or prop and tell the class in three sentences what their product is and who it is for.
- Year 8
- Pupils give a one minute pitch for a product idea from cue cards, including the price and why people would buy it.
- Year 9
- Pupils deliver a Dragons' Den style pitch to a panel, change their emphasis for that audience and answer the panel's questions.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 2, page 5; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criterion 2.2, page 7; Amplification of LO2, page 11
“Present the enterprise venture idea and enterprise factors to others using a planned method”
Progression step 3
I can speak clearly, recognising the appropriate language for different audiences and purposes, and varying my expression, vocabulary, tone and gestures to engage the audience.
I can organise talk so that different audiences in different contexts can follow what is being said, including using formal language.
Progression step 4
I can speak clearly, selecting and adapting my language appropriately for a range of audiences and purposes, conveying meaning effectively to the audience.
I can convey meaning convincingly in a range of contexts so that the audience is fully engaged.
I can organise talk effectively to respond to how listeners are reacting by adapting what I say and how I say it.
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).