Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviour of Young Self-employed Persons in the Osijek_Baranya County

Young people are undoubtedly the most valuable economic, political and social resource, and a future force for the sustainable development of every country. In Croatia, seeking employment represents one of their main challenges. Job creation, competitiveness increase and the production of sophisticated and innovative goods and services are the things that encourage and enhance economic growth and development, and increase profits. Motivating and supporting young people to get self-employed and become entrepreneurs help them enter the labour market. At the same time, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of a proactive search for job openings. In Croatia, certain employment policies are currently being implemented at national level, including counselling, professional guidance and training. Timely information has a very important role in all stages of the entrepreneurial process. Providing relevant information at the right time can forge decisions that affect the outcome of an entrepreneurial venture. The purpose of this paper is to stress the information needs and behaviour of young self-employed people in the Osijek-Baranya County during various stages of the entrepreneurial process. The study involves young people who became self-employed in the period from 2014 to 2017. The applied methodology encompassed a survey and an interview. Due to a low response rate, the analysis of the results is based only on a qualitative approach. The results indicate what kind of information is needed to for becoming an entrepreneur, which sources of information young people use and what obstacles they encounter when searching for information on self- employment and entrepreneurship. The study makes a contribution to the understanding of the information seeking behaviour associated with a job search. Also, the results of this study can serve as a basis for tailoring or improving the guidelines for providing counselling and encouragement when actively seeking employment as well as a framework for possible cooperation with public service and information providers with the ultimate goal to ensure the most adequate responsiveness to the needs of young people.