Interactive Succession Readiness Toolkit

The Succession Ready project addresses the critical issue of failed business successions in SMEs across Europe, which jeopardize approximately 600,000 jobs annually due to a failure rate of about one-third. These failures lead to significant losses in employment, innovation, and economic growth, disproportionately affecting structurally weak regions. Research highlighted that existing training and support for succession processes were generic and lacked tailored, situational approaches. This gap left SME stakeholders, potential successors, and VET providers ill-equipped to navigate the complexities of succession. By leveraging the expertise of chambers of commerce, business development centers, and entrepreneurship educators, our consortium aimed to fill this gap. We developed innovative tools, including an interactive assessment app, comprehensive training programs, and a knowledge hub to provide stakeholders with actionable resources. The project equips SMEs and successors to analyze readiness, address knowledge gaps, and adopt best practices, ultimately increasing the success rate of business successions and contributing to economic stability and sustainability in Europe.

The primary objective of the Succession Ready project was to impact on the high failure rate of business successions in European SMEs by equipping key stakeholders with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate succession processes successfully. Recognizing the complexity and situational dependence of such processes, the project aimed to develop innovative, complementary resources that enhance existing support mechanisms in the VET sector. Specifically, the project sought to: - Raise awareness of the importance of professional succession planning among SMEs, successors, VET and policymakers. - Provide SMEs and potential successors with tailored training programs, practical toolkits, and an interactive assessment app to analyze readiness, address weaknesses, and prepare effectively. - Enable VET providers to incorporate these resources into their services, thereby enhancing their capacity to support SMEs and successors. - Foster sustainable knowledge exchange through a digital Knowledge Hub. By achieving these objectives, the project aimed to increase the likelihood of successful successions, secure jobs, and foster innovation in structurally weak regions across Europe.