We love the idea of being self-made.
We use it to describe people who seem to have started with nothing and reached extraordinary success through determination alone. Yet the closer we look at most success stories, the harder that idea becomes to defend.
In a 2024 conversation on The Diary Of A CEO, Trevor Noah challenged the myth of the self-made success story. His broader point was that people rarely reach extraordinary heights alone. Behind them are often teachers, mentors, families, communities and others who offered guidance, belief or an opportunity at the right moment.
Once you sit with that idea, the story we tell about success starts to look different. If no one is truly self-made, then success depends not only on talent or determination, but also on access to people, experiences and opportunities that help those qualities grow.
That raises an important question: who gets access to those opportunities in the first place?
For many young people in under-resourced schools, access is not equal. The issue is not a lack of talent or ambition. It is that the experiences that help develop communication, collaboration, problem-solving, confidence and other durable life skills can be far less available to them.
This is the opportunity gap in education.
What Is the Opportunity Gap in Education?
The opportunity gap in education is the unequal access young people have to experiences, resources and support that help them develop the skills they need to succeed in school, work and life.
Those skills matter more than ever.
An analysis of roughly 76 million job postings by America Succeeds and Lightcast found that more than three out of four postings requested at least one durable skill, while eight of the ten most-requested skills across the economy fell into this category. These include skills such as communication, collaboration, leadership, adaptability and problem-solving.
They are not simply useful extras. They are increasingly part of what employers expect people to bring with them.
The challenge is that young people do not all have the same opportunities to develop them.
The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution has documented a major gap in enrichment spending between families at different income levels. The wealthiest families spend roughly seven times as much as the lowest-income families on experiences such as lessons, camps and other activities outside the traditional school day.
That difference can mean more chances to lead, collaborate, speak in front of others, solve real problems and learn how to recover when something does not go according to plan.
The talent may be there in equal measure. The opportunity to practise it is not.
Why Durable Life Skills Matter for Students
Research highlighted by The Hamilton Project, including work by economist James Heckman and colleagues, has linked these kinds of human and social skills to long-term outcomes including educational attainment, employment and earnings.
But durable life skills are difficult to develop through memorization alone.
Young people learn communication by having something meaningful to communicate. They learn collaboration when they have to work through different opinions. They develop resilience when an idea does not work and they are given the support and space to try another approach.
This is why hands-on learning opportunities matter.
Why BizWorld Uses Entrepreneurship to Teach Durable Life Skills
BizWorld uses entrepreneurship education as a vehicle for teaching durable life skills because it gives students a practical reason to use them.
Students have to communicate ideas, work with teammates, manage money, solve problems, listen to feedback and adapt when their first plan does not work. Entrepreneurship turns these skills from abstract concepts into something students have to practise in real time.
The goal is not to convince every young person to become an entrepreneur. The goal is to give them experiences that help develop skills they can carry into whatever path they choose.
Whether a student eventually starts a company, joins an organization, enters a trade or follows a path that does not yet exist, communication, collaboration, confidence, financial literacy and problem-solving will continue to matter.
Helping Close the Opportunity Gap
Where a young person begins should not determine how many opportunities they are given to discover what they can do.
BizWorld works to expand access to hands-on entrepreneurship education so more students can practise these skills in environments where they are encouraged to make decisions, take responsibility and learn through experience.
That is the purpose behind Skills for Success, BizWorld’s summer awareness and fundraising campaign focused on helping more young people gain access to the durable life skills that can support them far beyond the classroom.
No one becomes who they are entirely on their own. Somewhere along the way, someone usually offers guidance, opens an opportunity or gives them the chance to try.
Your support can help create that opportunity for another young person.
