Call for graduate entrepreneurs

Sep 15 2004

Chancellor Gordon Brown has launched the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship to promote entrepreneurial activity amongst the UK's university leavers.

The Council has been launched in a bid to help the UK catch up with other countries that have much higher levels of graduate entrepreneurial activity. According to Rebecca Harding, author of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, just 7% of graduates aged 24 or below are 'entrepreneurially active', while the figure is between 11% and 12% n the United States, Canada and Germany.

A survey of students or recent graduates in July this year by research group YouGov showed they are willing to entertain the idea of starting their own business but see a number of obstacles in their way.

  • 15% would consider going it alone straight after university

  • 34% would consider setting up a business after 5 years of industry experience

  • 43% feel the UK economic environment is a good place to start up a business at the moment.

  • 52% of the students anticipate leaving university with between £10,000 and £20,000 in debt

  • 39% plan to manage debt by getting the highest paid job they can find, 37% by getting the first job they can.

  • 76% cite lack of investment/funds as a barrier to going it alone, while 44% cited lack of business skills

    The Council’s aim is to increase the number of graduates going into business for themselves by instigating a cultural change in universities. It plans to do this by researching the barriers to start-up for graduates, showing how business applies to university courses and introducing additional courses to teach business skills to students.

    (15/9/04)

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