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Ideas into Action – Entrepreneurship for Youth workers based on Local Economy Needs 2014-2-UK01-KA205-012100

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Ideas into Action – Entrepreneurship for Youth

Workers based on Local Economy Needs

Reference: 2014-‐2-‐UK01-‐KA205-‐012100

Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership (Youth)

United Kingdom -‐ National Secondary & Primary Research Report (IO1)

Your Name Mathew Hayes, John Latham, David Evans

Name Of Your Organisation Lancaster and Morecambe College & MI-‐Gen CIC

Country United Kingdom

email [email protected], [email protected], davidevans@mi-‐gen.co.uk

Date December 2015


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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made

of the information contained therein.

Contents

Entrepreneurship in the UK…………….................................Page 3 – 4

Local, Regional and National Economy………………………….Page 5 – 9

Youth Unemployment Figures…………………………………………….Page 9

Entrepreneurship and Education in the UK………………………..Page 10

Who is Promoting Entrepreneurship at Local, Regional and

National Level?.............................................................Page 12 – 17

Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Supporting the Employability of Young People………………………………………………….…….Page 18 – 19

What Events are Taking Place Promoting Entrepreneurship?................................................................0

Primary research……………………..……………………………………..Page 21

Resources/research Appendix……………………………………Page 29 – 30


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Entrepreneurship in the U.K

In the UK we define entrepreneurship as the process of developing a business or enterprise idea from the ‘ground up’. This involves the development of an idea into a viable business plan and then into a profitable business or enterprise initiative. Entrepreneurship can also be defined as the ‘activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit’ (Oxford Dictionary).

U.K Success Stories

The U.K is seen as a leading nation in the E.U in relation to entrepreneurship and business start-‐ups and we have had a long tradition of successful entrepreneurs. Some notable U.K entrepreneurs include Sir Philip Green (Fashion retail, Topshop), Amit and Meeta Patel (Pharmaceuticals, Auden McKenzie), Mike Ashley (Sports fashion/equipment retail) Mahmud Kamani (Online fashion, Boohoo.com) Sir Richard Branson (Airlines, Banking and Media, Virgin Group), Sir James Dyson (Electrical goods, Dyson), Mark and Mo Constantine (Cosmetics, Lush), Tom Morris (Discount retailer, Home Bargains) and Denise Coates (Online gaming and gambling, Bet365) (Please refer to this article for more information and other successful U.K entrepreneurs -‐ http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/smallbusiness/article-‐2809685/Top-‐25-‐self-‐entrepreneurs-‐started-‐small-‐sums-‐money.html).

Current Trend

This trend in U.K self-‐employment has continued and even increased in recent years to changes in the U.K economy and Labour market. This increase is partly as a result of necessity as much as choice as employers reduce contracted staff numbers, re-‐classify some employees as self-‐employed and individuals become self-‐employed due to a lack of viable employment. Also many individuals are looking to become self-‐employed, freelance or run businesses from home due to the flexibility that this allows in their ‘work-‐life balance’. In 2014 the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that ‘self-‐employment higher than at any point over past 40 years’ and that ‘across the European Union the U.K has had the third largest percentage rise in self-‐employment since 2009’. They also found that in 2014 ‘4.6 million people were self-‐employed in their main job accounting for 15% of those in work’ and that there were an ‘additional 356,000 employees who had a second job in which they were self-‐employed’. The following link shows the latest report from the ONS into self-‐employment in the U.K published in 2014 (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_374941.pdf).


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Table 1.1 U.K Self-‐employment levels over the last 40 years

The ‘Internet Age’ and Information Technology

Changes in technology and the rise of the internet and information technology have also empowered a new form of entrepreneur, one that can start younger and with much less capitol start-‐up costs. Recent years have seen a growth in teenage entrepreneurs creating successful enterprises while still in full-‐time education (Please refer to this article for some examples -‐ http://startups.co.uk/young-‐entrepreneurs/)

Social Media

Social Media has played a vital role in a new generation of entrepreneurs as Facebook, Myspace, You Tube and Twitter have enable young ‘tech savvy’ individuals to create an online presence and platform to either sell products, market/advertise goods, crowd fund projects and generally reach a large scale audience with minimal expense.


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Local Economy (Lancaster and Morecambe) The economy of the Lancaster and Morecambe area has undergone dramatic change over the past 20 years. The area used to be a thriving tourist destination with a strong focus on seasonal tourism and a service related economy. The areas geographical location on North West coast of the U.K and on the doorstep of the Lake District National Park enabled it to draw in visitors from both across the U.K and internationally. However with the increase in globalisation and the cost of travelling abroad falling, the area has found its status as a vibrant tourist location diminished. The fall in visitor numbers in the past 20-‐30 years (along with other social and economic factors) has meant the area’s economy has struggled to create employment opportunities and sustain both new and existing businesses across all sectors. The Service Sector is still the dominant industry in the local area with Retail, Hospitality, Catering and Outdoor Activities providing the main employment opportunities. Adult Health and Social Care also employs a large number of people due to the demographics of the area and an increasingly elderly population. Public Sector employment is high and public funded organisations such as the NHS, Local/County Council, Police, Fire and Prison Services all contribute to local employment opportunities. The area does also have a strong educational presence due to the two Universities (Lancaster University and The University of Cumbria), Lancaster and Morecambe College and the many Primary/Secondary and Sixth Form Schools in both Morecambe and Lancaster. Lancaster University has recently been re-‐developed and now includes a ‘Science Park’ which provides creative space for research focussed companies and a pool of post graduate employees. Recent years have seen a growth in small scale I.T companies specialising in Web design, App development, Search Engine Optimisation and Online Marketing due to skill set provided by post graduate employees from Lancaster University (Companies such as Fat Media have seen great success with this approach) The local Authority provides rentable office facilities for over 150 businesses at White Cross Business Park and other premises throughout the area at preferable rents to encourage new business start-‐ups


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The Morecambe and Lancaster area has a lower than average manufacturing employment but the Energy industry has a strong presence with two EDF Energy Nuclear Power Stations making the site one of largest concentrations of power generation in U.K. Over the two sites over 1800 people are employed mostly by EDF and many external private contractors. There is also the Port of Heysham which provides a link to Ireland and The Isle of Man. This provides addition industrial employment around shipping, haulage and logistics. These industries support several industrial estates in the local area (White Lund, Lune, Lansil, Heysham and Middleton) which are pockets of manufacturing, haulage/logistics and warehousing/distribution. These are present due to links to M6 Motorway and Heysham Port and recent increased investment in infrastructure will hopefully boost this local economy further. Recent figures show that there were 4,185 active enterprises in the area in 2013 (Local Authority statistics) and these were across a wide range of different sectors and industries.

Regional Economy (Lancashire) The North West of England, and in particular the county of Lancashire has historically been an area dominated by mill towns and the cotton industry (In 1830’s approximately 85% of the cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire). Towns such as Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major mill towns, whereas Morecambe and Blackpool were major centres for tourism due to their location on the coast. Lancashire’s current administrative hub is the city of Preston although historically Lancaster was the county’s capitol. Lancashire has a population of around 1.5 million, with 620,000 in work and around 45 – 50 thousand businesses. Many of the businesses are small in size, with 95% employing less than 20 people. However there are around 80,000 employed in Manufacturing and 20,000 employed in the Aerospace Industry which is the single largest concentration of Aerospace employment in the country (Source -‐ National Careers Service). Figures show that there were 49,825 active enterprises in Lancashire in 2014 (Lancashire County Council statistics). Key employers in Lancashire include (in relation to numbers employed):

• B.A.E Systems, Rolls Royce, Baxi Group, Leyland Trucks, Crown Paints, Toshiba Westinghouse UK, Enterprise Group, Waitrose, Booths, Dr Oetker, Merlin Entertainments.


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The largest private industry in Lancashire is the Defence Industry, B.A.E Systems Military Air Solutions in Warton, B.A.E Systems Global Combat Systems in Chorley, Ultra Electronics in Fulwood and Rolls-‐Royce in Barnoldswick. This industry brings together a range of different manufacturing and technology companies to the area and an enterprise zone was launched in 2012 at Warton Aerodrome. In March 2015 a new enterprise zone is to be created at Blackpool Airport which will hopefully provide more opportunities for employment and to boost the Lancashire economy. Table 2.1 below shows a breakdown of the active enterprises across Lancashire in 2013 as recorded by Lancashire County Council, it also shows the ‘birth’ (start-‐up, begin trading) of new enterprises and ‘death’ (ceased trading) of existing enterprises.

Table 2.1 Active enterprises, and births and deaths of enterprises, 2013

Source: Office for National Statistics: Business Demography: Enterprise Births, Deaths and Survival

• [1] An active enterprise is one that had turnover and/or employment at any time during the given year.

• [2] Number of active enterprises ceasing trading as a proportion of the number of active enterprises.

Area Active enterprises[1] Percent of GB total Births Deaths Death rate[2] %Burnley 2,540 -‐-‐-‐ 360 235 9.3Chorley 4,080 -‐-‐-‐ 500 390 9.6Fylde 3,190 -‐-‐-‐ 390 355 11.1Hyndburn 2,340 -‐-‐-‐ 310 215 9.2Lancaster 4,185 -‐-‐-‐ 510 345 8.2Pendle 2,760 -‐-‐-‐ 345 265 9.6Preston 4,945 -‐-‐-‐ 690 535 10.8Ribble Valley 2,910 -‐-‐-‐ 335 250 8.6Rossendale 2,545 -‐-‐-‐ 300 260 10.2South Ribble 3,920 -‐-‐-‐ 500 385 9.8West Lancashire 4,060 -‐-‐-‐ 500 430 10.6Wyre 3,855 -‐-‐-‐ 470 370 9.6Lancashire (12 districts) 41,330 1.73% 5,210 4,035 9.8Blackburn with Darwen 4,550 -‐-‐-‐ 680 435 9.6Blackpool 3,945 -‐-‐-‐ 605 450 11.4Lancashire (14 authorities) 49,825 2.08% 6,495 4,920 9.9North West 240,075 10.03% 35,285 24,130 10.1

Great Britain 2,392,965 100.00% 341,630 232,540 9.7


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National Economy (U.K) On a national level the U.K economy is currently in a state of revival after the devastating effects of the 2008 economic crisis. The U.K has the 5th largest economy in the world and 2nd in Europe behind Germany, the U.K economy was worth an estimated £1,818bn in 2014 (Source – Cebr Global). In 2013 there were 2,392,065 active enterprises in U.K with the number of businesses per 10,000 adults being 984 in England, 740 in Scotland, 753 in Wales and 785 in Northern Ireland (Source – ONS). The U.K economy is mainly dominated by London and a strong financial sector (City of London). However the Service sector employs the majority of U.K workforce with 78.2% employed in Services, 21.1% in Industries and 0.7% in Agriculture as shown in table 2.2 below (Source – Economywatch.com). The Public sector is also a large employer with 17.4% of total employment in England, 22.1% in Scotland, 24% in Wales and 27.9% in Northern Ireland as represented in table 2.3 below (Source – Office National Statistics -‐ ONS).

78%

21%

1%

Table 2.2: UK Economy by Sector

Services

Industry

Agriculture


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The U.K has limited large scale manufacturing but does have very specialist and high tech industries such as I.T, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Aerospace, Precision Instruments and Automotive. The Auto industry does have a solid presence – Jaguar Land Rover in Merseyside, Honda in Swindon, BMW Mini in Oxford, Vauxhall in Merseyside and Luton, Ford in Southampton, Nissan in the North East, Renault in Luton, MG in the Midlands and several other car manufacturing plants across the country.

Youth Unemployment Figures Since the economic crisis of 2008 youth unemployment in the U.K has been at record highs and is still an ongoing concern. Competition for vacancies, lack of work experience and a changing labour market have all affected young people’s chances of securing employment after leaving full-‐time education. The rates below show youth (16 to 24 year old) unemployment figures from late 2014.

• Locally – 1 in 5 (20%) 16 to 24 year olds in Lancaster area in 2014 (Lancaster University statistics)

• Regionally – 1 in 5 (20%) 16 to 24 year olds in Lancashire in 2014 (ONS statistics)

• Nationally – 16.2% of 16 to 24 year olds in UK in from Nov 2014 – Jan 2015

(Library of House of Commons report 18th March 2015)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

England Scotland Wales N.Ireland

17.4 22.1 24

27.9 % of Workforce

Country within the U.K

Table 2.3: % of UK Workforce Employed in the Public Sector


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For February to April 2015 the ONS reports that for people aged from 16 to 24, there were:

• 3.86 million people in work (including 873,000 full-‐time students with part-‐time jobs)

• 740,000 unemployed people (including 265,000 full-‐time students looking for part-‐time work)

• 2.67 million economically inactive people, most of whom (2.02 million) were full-‐time students

They also report that from February to April 2015, the unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 16.1% which shows a slight reduction from the previous quarter (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_404873.pdf). Entrepreneurship Policies Relating to the Education of Young

People at Local, Regional and National Level

The U.K Government’s official policy on entrepreneurship and the education of young people is rather unclear. There is no specific policy to ensure that all young people have some knowledge of or education in entrepreneurial skills or how to become an entrepreneur. Neither is there any thread of entrepreneurship running through the National Curriculum for any age group in formal education. It would appear that the responsibility has fallen to individual Schools, Colleges, Universities and Education Providers to incorporate information, advice, guidance and training in self-‐employment, enterprise awareness, entrepreneurial skills and business start-‐ups into the education of their students. This is also dependant on the subject or study area of the students, for example a Business Studies or Economics student would have lessons and modules relating to entrepreneurship whereas a Sports, Geography or English student would not. It is also the case that vocational studies such as Hairdressing, Joinery, Plumbing, Electrical Engineering or Creative Media get very little guidance in entrepreneurship. These students tend to get training in the relevant trade but not how to develop that trade into a viable enterprise or self-‐employment opportunity on completion of their studies.

In recent years the U.K Government seems to have begun to identify this issue and has commissioned research into this topic. However, the government have been concentrating on Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) when trying to incorporate entrepreneurship into education and not on instilling the necessary skills and ‘mindset’ earlier in the educational process. This is evident in the below government report from June 2013 relating to the impact of enterprise and entrepreneurship in formal education in the U.K:


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https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208715/bis-‐13-‐904-‐enterprise-‐education-‐impact-‐in-‐higher-‐education-‐and-‐further-‐education.pdf

This government funded report defines enterprise and entrepreneurship in education as:

“Enterprise education is the application of creative ideas and innovations to practical situations – with enterprise education aiming to produce individuals with the mindset and skills to respond to opportunities, needs and shortfalls, with key skills including taking the initiative, decision making, problem solving, networking, identifying opportunities and personal effectiveness. Enterprise provision can be applied to all areas of education, extending beyond knowledge acquisition to a wide range of emotional, social, and practical skills.”

The report also states that:

“Formal provision is better established than previous studies have indicated. It can be found in nearly three quarters of HEIs and FE colleges. Around 30% of both FE and HEIs have some formal full courses and around 60% have units in some vocational courses. Few providers have a wide range of departments offering formal learning, the majority only have enterprise and entrepreneurship education offered in Business and Management departments.”

However the report also points out that:

“Slightly more FE colleges (14%) than HEIs (9%) offer no provision”, and that “while enterprise and entrepreneurship education appears to be strengthening it is not yet widely embedded in the full range of vocational learning where students are likely to be working in SMEs or self-‐employed, since there are many such courses which do not appear to have any embedded enterprise and entrepreneurship education.”

The report concludes that:

“The research appears to support a policy of encouraging and enabling students in FE and HE to participate in enterprise and entrepreneurship education which is both formal and informal learning to provide relevant attributes (knowledge, skills and competences) as well as relevant attitudes and intentions. It suggests that learning by doing (such as projects, placements and learning enterprises) should be included in all enterprise and entrepreneurship education courses since these seem to increase the outcomes and impacts for students, especially those in FE. This may be achieved in non-‐formal learning but it can also be achieved through embedding this in the curriculum.”


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Who is Promoting Entrepreneurship at Local, Regional and National Level?

1. Local, Regional and National Government

The Government department responsible for entrepreneurship, business start-‐ups and economic growth in the U.K is the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (B.I.S). Their primary role is ‘to invest in skills and education to promote trade, boost innovation and help people to start and grow a business’ (Gov.uk website). This department works alongside over 50 other agencies and public bodies to try to achieve their aims and goals on local, regional and national levels. However, though it would appear that the government does have some influence via this department, it is not actively engaging entrepreneurs or promoting new business start-‐ups. Instead it is providing a basic support service to new start-‐ups by offering online Information, advice and guidance as well as some small grants for small businesses (Please see -‐ https://www.gov.uk/starting-‐up-‐a-‐business/get-‐funding).

U.K Government, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (B.I.S) https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-‐for-‐business-‐innovation-‐skills & https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/business-‐enterprise

At a more local level B.I.S. established Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). In England, local enterprise partnerships are voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses set up in 2011 to help determine local economic priorities and lead economic growth and job creation within the local area. Blaze is an example of a multi-‐funded UK local initiative. It is based in Preston, and is funded by Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council, Curious Minds and Arts Council England. It works with Young People across Lancashire and the North West to create cultural producers, artists and entrepreneurs and deliver a programme of creative work through training and development with strong links to the cultural venues and creative industries across the North West region. Agriculture is a strategically important part of the Lancashire Economy, but because of the way the government is structured nationally, it is not an area that falls within the remit of the Lancashire LEP. Instead it falls within the remit of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).


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Agriculture including livestock and dairy farming is far more important than arable production in the broader Lancashire area. In 2013, 83.8% of the total agricultural area in the county was classified under the temporary and permanent grassland or rough grazing headings (England = 48.6%). National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs -‐ http://www.nfyfc.org.uk/ The top grade farming land in West Lancashire means that the area is a significant producer of field vegetables and crops grown under glass/plastic. The farming land allocated to fruit and vegetable production in West Lancashire represents 94% of the Lancashire total (64% of the North West total). In terms of employment, the 2013 DEFRA food and farming statistics estimate a total Lancashire workforce (which includes farmers, managers, employees and casual labour) of some 10,000 people or about 3.4% of the England total. National results highlight that total income from farming in 2013 was £5.6 billion.

2. Private Sector, Charities and Other Organisations On the ground level the responsibility for promoting Entrepreneurship in the U.K seems to have been led by private organisations and quasi-‐governmental agencies. Many charities, organisations and bodies have become active in promoting entrepreneurship across the U.K and especially within the educational system. Below are some of the organisations, bodies and charities working to try to boost entrepreneurship and encourage the inclusion of the subject into young people’s education in the U.K.

YES Education – Young Entrepreneur Society Ltd (YES) was founded by a 19 year old woman in 2009 she was unemployed and wanted to start a business. There was little support available to guide her and the labour market had little to offer her, she then decided to create a programme that teaches young people entrepreneurial and life skills in order to boost their employability and employment options. The company has grown ever since and is now known as YES Education and YES Network under the YES banner of Young Entrepreneurs Success Ltd. (http://www.yes-‐educationuk.com/about/)


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T.E.E.G – The Entrepreneurship Education Group – Launched in January 2014 this organisation aims to bring together existing entrepreneurs and the educational sector in order to create better communication and sharing of best practice. It aims to create new and realistic pathways for young people as alternatives to general employment. The organisation believes that a ‘fusion between entrepreneurs and education is essential to better prepare our young people for more sustainable employment for themselves and to create jobs for others by starting their own business’. (http://teeg.co.uk/)

N.C.E.E – National Centre for Enterprise in Education – ‘The National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE) uses its networks, partners and resources to stimulate and encourage a more entrepreneurial education and support sector to create the opportunities for more individuals and organisations to develop the capacities they need for an entrepreneurial future’. (http://ncee.org.uk/)

The Enterprise Alliance – The Enterprise Alliance is a ‘three-‐way partnership between the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE), Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) and the Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE)’. It aims to be an ‘independent voice for enterprise and entrepreneurship education in UK Universities and Colleges’. The partnership was launched in January 2010 in Parliament by then Shadow Business Minister Mark Prisk MP. The Enterprise Alliance UK has the following goals:

• To provide an informed and independent voice for enterprise and entrepreneurship at national level in higher education across the UK.

• To promote enterprise awareness, education and practical support for entrepreneurship within and beyond the educational sector.

• To demonstrate and disseminate the highest professional standards of enterprise and entrepreneurship education, practice and support, informed by active research and innovation within our shared membership.

• To ensure that all students have the opportunity to experience in curricula and extra curricula enterprise and entrepreneurship learning as part of their studies.

• To gain governmental support throughout the UK for the development of enterprise and entrepreneurship education for all students in higher education.

(http://www.enterpriseallianceuk.co.uk/)


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Carnegie U.K Trust – For over 100 years the Carnegie Trust has assisted young people with access to education and has recently turned to assisting young people to develop their entrepreneurial skills while in education. They want to develop ‘overarching themes of an inclusive, coordinated approach to enterprise education and entrepreneurial learning, and providing real-‐life experiences for young people’. They believe that ‘inspiration about enterprise and opportunities for entrepreneurship should begin at as early an age as possible and continue throughout the curriculum and beyond, with young people’s understanding and skills being strengthened at each stage’. They work with educational establishments and successful entrepreneurs to try to achieve their goals. (http://www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=49404028-‐6fa9-‐42ca-‐b300-‐064006093ee5)

Social Enterprise U.K – This organisation works as a networking tool to help young entrepreneurs gain funding and support services for their enterprises and business ideas. It is mainly aimed at Social Enterprises but provides useful information, advice and guidance service for those in need. The organisation provides signposting to sources of finance and funding, venture philanthropy organisations, social investors and social lenders, social banks and other support organisations and bodies. (http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/advice-‐services/topic/finance)

Young Enterprise – Young Enterprise is the ‘UK’s leading enterprise and financial education charity’. They provide young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to engage in a range of practical enterprise programmes. These include one day master classes to year-‐long projects that empower young people to learn, to work and develop a more entrepreneurial mind-‐set. They aim to ‘make the connection between school and the world of work, enabling young people to develop the knowledge and attitudes they need to succeed’. Every year they work with ‘over 250,000 young people aged 4-‐25, supported by a network of 5,000 volunteers and 3,500 businesses’ to offer comprehensive training programmes covering over ‘4 million learning hours each year’. (http://www.young-‐enterprise.org.uk/)


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Enactus U.K – This organisation works with corporate partners and a number of member universities to establish student programmes on campuses. They provide faculty advisors and a local business advisory board to promote enterprise and assist students become more entrepreneurial. They work in 56 universities, with over 3,000 students on over 270 projects. (http://www.enactusuk.org/who-‐we-‐are/uk-‐programme)

Prince’s Trust – The Princes Trust programmes ‘give young people the practical and financial support they need to stabilise their lives’ and ‘help develop key skills, confidence and motivation, enabling young people to move into work, education or training’. Their Enterprise Programme has been in place for 30 years and has ‘helped more than 80,000 young people set up in business since 1983’. The Enterprise programme ‘helps young people interested in self-‐employment to explore and test their ideas, write plans and start their own businesses, or achieve alternative outcomes in education, training, volunteering or work’. Eligibility criteria:

• Aged 18-‐30 years old • Unemployed or working fewer than 16 hours a week • Have a business idea or some ideas to explore

Start-‐up services available:

• Training to give a taste of what they need to know and do to start their own business

• One to one support to help explore and test their idea and turn it into a business plan

• Mentoring and support to help them develop their business or achieve alternative outcomes in education, training, volunteering or work

• Start-‐up support and business offers for three years Start-‐up finance available:

• Low interest start-‐up loans of up to £7,500 • Small start-‐up business grants in special circumstances

(http://www.princes-‐trust.org.uk/about_the_trust/what_we_do/programmes/enterprise_programme.aspx)


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The Financial/Banking Sector – In recent years the Banking Industry has begun to take an active role in encouraging entrepreneurship and several of the major banks have created programmes and initiatives to support business growth and new start-‐ups. Below are some links to different programmes aimed at increasing and supporting entrepreneurship.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) -‐ http://www.inspiringenterprise.rbs.com/

Barclays Bank and Youth Business International (YBI) -‐ http://www.youthbusiness.org/barclays-‐to-‐help-‐youth-‐business-‐international-‐unlock-‐enterprise-‐for-‐young-‐people/

Several other banks including HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Deutsche Bank either sponsor charitable organisations that support youth entrepreneurship or run youth entrepreneurship events/awards to rewards success stories.

http://www.young-‐enterprise.org.uk/sponsor/hsbc-‐new/

http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/Media/Press-‐Releases/2014/lloyds-‐bank/top-‐young-‐entrepreneurs-‐go-‐head-‐to-‐head-‐for-‐lloyds-‐bank-‐enterprise-‐awards-‐final/

https://www.db.com/unitedkingdom/content/en/young_entrepreneurs.html

Other interesting information and support can be found on the following websites:

http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/

https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-‐content/press-‐releases/england/west-‐midlands/lottery-‐cash-‐fuels-‐young-‐enterprise-‐in-‐birmingham#

http://greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com/young-‐entrepreneur-‐of-‐the-‐year-‐2015/


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Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Supporting the Employability of Young People

Entrepreneurship in education does seem to be a topic of interest and debate at the moment. It is seen as a key skill that is also linked to the general employability of young people. With a current emphasis on employability, welfare benefits and the transition from education to employment in the political dialogue, entrepreneurship education has also been in the spotlight. The following are some organisations, initiatives and events that have arisen in order to investigate and address this issue.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) – This organisation is ‘the independent body entrusted with monitoring, and advising on, standards and quality in UK higher education’. Below is a link to their website and their ‘Guidance for UK higher education providers’ document for enterprise and entrepreneurship education.

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/enterprise-‐entrepreneurship-‐guidance.pdf

They have recently released their ‘Higher Education Review: Themes for 2015-‐16’ which can be accessed through the link below. This review states that a key theme to be addressed is for higher education providers to ‘employ a variety of mechanisms to support and promote employability and entrepreneurship’.

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/HER-‐Themes-‐Guidance-‐15-‐16.pdf

GOV.UK (UK Government) – The government department B.I.S has produced some further research into entrepreneurship in education by looking at the motivations of young entrepreneurs that set up their own businesses (please refer to links below).

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/entrepreneurship-‐understanding-‐the-‐motivations

https://www.gov.uk/search?q=entrepreneurship

Another national government initiative is the ‘New Enterprise Allowance’. This is for all age groups and can provide money and support to help you start your own business if you are in receipt of certain benefits (i.e. Job Seekers Allowance, Employment Support Allowance or Income Support). (https://www.gov.uk/new-‐enterprise-‐allowance)


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Events linked to education and entrepreneurship –

http://ieec.co.uk/ -‐ 2015 Conference being held at Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex, UK

http://www.enterprise.ac.uk/ -‐ National Enterprise Educator Awards, celebrating the UK’s top enterprise and entrepreneurship educators

http://www.isbe.org.uk/ -‐ The Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship host an annual conference that has ‘over 400 attendees from more than 40 countries; there are over 250 presentations of the highest quality new entrepreneurial research on a diverse range of topics along with high profile keynote speakers, stimulating panel debates and a number of specialist workshops’.

http://www.unleashingideas.org/global-‐entrepreneurship-‐library/sites/grl/files/gew_2014_schools.pdf -‐ ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week gives schools a unique opportunity to put enterprise at the top of the agenda and engage students and staff in activities and events that help unlock their potential and their passion’, this link is for a resources for school pack so the Teachers can incorporate entrepreneurship into their lesson plans and arrange events for G.E.W.

Other initiatives –

http://entrepreneurialskillspass.eu/ -‐ ‘The Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) is an international qualification that certifies that students (15-‐19 years old), who have had a real entrepreneurship experience, hold the necessary knowledge, competences and skills to start a venture of their own or be successfully employed’.

http://startingabusiness.expertmarket.co.uk/ -‐ ‘The Beginners’ Guide to Starting a UK Business’, this step by step information, advice and guidance document is an excellent support tool to any young person looking to become an entrepreneur or start their own business.

http://gec.co/sites/default/files/IR2015_052615_lr.pdf -‐ The Global Entrepreneurship Network: 2015 Impact Report brings a more global perspective and how different initiatives have impacted in a range of countries across the globe. This can be used to share ‘best practices’ and share ideas across continents and countries.


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Events Promoting Entrepreneurship There are a number of different events taking place in the U.K to try to promote and encourage entrepreneurship. Some are well established and are annual events whereas others are just being established to address the growing necessity for increased entrepreneurship in a fragile and changeable economy. Below are some examples of such events.

Global Entrepreneurship Week – This is the ‘world’s largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship’ and plays a ‘critical role in encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs to consider starting up their own business’. In 2014 GEWUK engaged with ‘more than 600 partner organisations hosting over 6000 events that reached more than 300,000 entrepreneurial people across the country’. These events aim to engage and enthuse people into becoming more entrepreneurial and to encourage business start-‐ups and involve successful entrepreneurs, organisations and companies sharing best practices and ideas. (http://uk.gew.co/about)

Nottingham Youth Entrepreneurship Festival 2015 (ENTER) – The ENTER festival is taking place from 1st May – 21st June 2015 in Nottingham and will aim to ‘shine a spotlight on the growing number of young people in Britain who are choosing more entrepreneurial paths for themselves rather than taking on more conventional employment’. The event will involve many activities, seminars, support facilities and guidance for young people interested in entrepreneurship. It aims to offer ‘vibrant, dynamic, challenging and unforgettable experiences and opportunities for young people’. (http://enternottingham.com/) (http://www.creativequarter.com/news/nottingham-‐launches-‐first-‐festival-‐youth-‐entrepreneurship-‐uk/) The Future of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise in Education 2015 – This event presents delegates with the opportunity to hear from leading experts on how to develop effective models for enterprise education within their institutions. The event will use ‘examples of best practice and updates on the latest policy developments in enterprise education’, to enable attendees to ‘examine how to improve their provision and develop their curriculum to deliver an enterprising education’. (http://www.insidegovernment.co.uk/event-‐details/entrepreneurship-‐enterprise-‐education/438)


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Primary research

The UK report takes into consideration responses provided from both UK partners, L&M College and MI-‐Gen CIC. In total 11 responses were received. Q1: Have you been involved in any Entrepreneurship focused projects?

Figure 1: Involvement in Entrepreneurship projects As can be seen from figure 1, 73% (8) of the respondents had previously been involved in some type of entrepreneurship projects, while 27% (3) had not. Q2: If yes, what projects have you been involved in? Those respondents that had been involved were asked to describe these projects. The brief descriptions of these projects indicated that projects focused on particular aspects categorised as follows:

• Enterprise support • Enterprise start-‐ups • Mentoring • Competition funding

0

1

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8

9

Yes No


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Q3: What do you think the outputs, benefits and impacts of Entrepreneurship projects are?

Figure 2: Outputs, benefits and impacts of Entrepreneurship projects Figure 2 shows that 91% (10) of respondents in this sample thought that the greatest benefit of entrepreneurship projects were ‘individual confidence’ and ‘student enterprise’ closely followed by ‘motivation’ (9). Only 36% (4) of respondents felt that entrepreneurship projects offered ‘better quality of life’. Respondents were also given the opportunity to describe any other outputs, benefits and impacts that they associated with entrepreneurship projects. Figure 3 below shows the most commonly mentioned benefits.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Intergeneraronal Mentoring

Business success

Morvaron

Beser quality of life

Student enterprise

Individual confidence


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Figure 3: Other outputs, benefits and impacts of Entrepreneurship projects As shown in figure 3, 27% (3) of respondents highlighted ‘increased employability’ as a potential benefit of entrepreneurship projects, highlighted in the following statement: “It offers extra opportunities in terms of the labour market and jobs for young people”. 64% (7) of participants felt that “the opportunity to develop transferrable skills” was a potential benefit of entrepreneurship projects and finally 18% (2) of respondents highlighted the potential benefit of the economic value for the local community highlighted in the following statement: “I think people with entrepreneur skills can add more to society and the economy by being able to set up business”.

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2

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4

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6

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8

Increased employability Transferrable skills Economic value for the local community


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Q4: What do you think the main challenges are for Entrepreneurship projects?

Figure 4: Challenges of Entrepreneurship projects Respondents were asked about their perceptions of the main challenges for entrepreneurship projects. These responses can be categorised into three main challenges of ‘engagement’, ‘funding’ and ‘project design’. First, the respondents discussed the challenge of encouraging young people, experienced project leaders and establishments, particularly educational establishments, to engage in such projects. For instance, one respondent explained “in the case of young people, it can be difficult getting educational establishments especially, to engage in such projects” and another participant said “It can be difficult assembling the right people to make such projects happen; encouraging them to be involved”. Second, a common challenge mentioned by respondents related to funding/financing of such a project, highlighted in the following representative statement: “Accessing and sustaining funding to create sustainable projects for a long period of time and these types of projects tend to have bigger and more life changing impact when they are long term”. Finally, the respondents also mentioned the challenges related more directly to the design of a project. For instance, some participants highlighted the difficulty of ‘assembling a suitable team”; another respondent described the challenge of “setting realistic outcomes within the timeframe” and finally other respondents highlighted the challenge of “measuring the impact” and “producing outputs that can be easily transferred or cascaded to others”.

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Engagement Funding Project design


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Q5: What do you think the potential benefits of bringing entrepreneurship and education together are?

Figure 5: Benefits of bringing entrepreneurship and education together As can be seen from figure 5, responses focused on three areas: Firstly, the perceived benefits to young people, described mainly in terms of the potential for “new knowledge, skills and experience that can be transferred more widely” and “helping young people to understand what entrepreneurship is and is not”. Secondly, respondents discussed the perceived benefits for the relationship between education and business most commonly in terms of providing the opportunity where “theory can be practiced in reality” and “sharing knowledge between business and education”. Finally, respondents highlighted the potential benefits of combining entrepreneurship and education for the economy. For instance, one respondent explained: “It develops balanced people that can add to the economy and society either within an organisation or by setting up their own business”. The economic value was perceived as beneficial for young people, as one respondent said “it gives young people more options in a time when the labour market has never been less secure”.

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Transferable skills Combining theory and pracrce Economic Value


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Q6: What support materials and resources are most useful for entrepreneurship projects? Provide URLs if possible.

Figure 6: Useful support materials This question appeared to present the biggest challenge for participants as 45% (5) explained that they were unable to answer this question. Of those respondents that did answer this question, 55% (6) felt that a mentoring scheme from those with real lived experience of entrepreneurship was most useful. As can be seen in figure 6, only one participant suggested that a government grant would be useful. Respondents were also asked to include particular websites that they perceived as useful materials, detailed below:

• UnLtd toolkit: https://unltd.org.uk/socialentrepreneurshiptoolkit/ • Business model canvas: http://www.entrepreneurship.org/business-‐model-‐

canvas.aspx • Art of the start: www.artofthestart.eu • Young Enterprise: http://www.young-‐enterprise.org.uk/?gclid=CK-‐

YoOXL8cgCFSEGwwodgdEH8Q • Virgin Entrepreneur http://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/4-‐online-‐resources-‐

all-‐entrepreneurs-‐should-‐use

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Mentoring scheme Government grant No response


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Q7: What competences and characteristics do you think young people need to succeed in entrepreneurship?

Figure 7: The competencies and characteristics needed to succeed Question 7 asked respondents to rate a number of competencies and characteristics on a scale ranging from ‘very important’ to ‘not at all important’. Figure 7 shows the way in which participants rated each competency and characteristic. As can be seen, most respondents rated ‘be resilient’ (11) and ‘use your initiative’ (10) as ‘very important’, closely followed by ‘enjoy what you do’ (8) and ‘understand your target market’ (7).

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Not important

A lisle important

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No response


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55% (6) of respondents rated ‘always project a professional and positive image” as ‘very important’ and the remaining 5 respondents rated it as ‘quite important’. Most respondents (8) rated ‘train yourself’ as ‘quite important’ and 36% (4) of participants rated ‘be familiar with the latest technology’ as ‘a little important’ whilst 45% (5) felt that it was ‘quite important’. As can be seen from figure 7, very few of the competencies and characteristics were rated as ‘not important’, with only one participant rating ‘search for opportunities’ and ‘be familiar with the latest technology’ as this. Q8: What are your target groups?

Figure 8: Target group Question 8 asked respondents to identify their target groups. As can be seen from figure 8, the target groups that the respondents were most commonly working with were ‘young people interested in starting their own business’ (8), ‘young people engaged in Social Enterprises’ (6) and ‘young people in general’ (5).

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Youth workers

Young people in general

Young people interested in starrng their own

Organisarons who provide informaron/

Young people engaged in Event Management

Young people engaged in tourism

Young people engaged in Social Enterprises

Young people involved the Care Sector

Young people interested in the Hospitality

Young people interested in Agriculture

Young people with knowledge in English for

Unemployed young people who have finished

Young people in their last year of school who are

Young people interested in being involved in


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Resources/Research Appendix Entrepreneur Links, Articles and Websites: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/entrepreneurs-‐setting-‐up-‐in-‐the-‐uk/entrepreneurs-‐setting-‐up-‐in-‐the-‐uk https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/338749/EnterpriseforAll-‐lowres-‐200614.pdf https://www.gov.uk/starting-‐up-‐a-‐business/get-‐funding http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/21/entrepreneurial-‐uk-‐10-‐things-‐britain-‐has-‐given-‐the-‐world http://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-‐blog/we-‐need-‐to-‐teach-‐young-‐people-‐more-‐entrepreneurial-‐skills http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/g20-‐summit/10266775/UK-‐hailed-‐as-‐best-‐place-‐in-‐Europe-‐for-‐entrepreneurs.html http://www.gemconsortium.org/docs/download/3371 http://startups.co.uk/famous-‐entrepreneur-‐stories/ http://startups.co.uk/young-‐entrepreneurs/ http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/entrepreneurs/ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/200730 http://www.smarta.com/advice/starting-‐up/starting-‐your-‐own-‐business/what-‐makes-‐an-‐entrepreneur/ http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/ http://www.entre-‐ed.org/Standards_Toolkit/benefits.htm -‐ An American perspective http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/enterprise-‐entrepreneurship-‐guidance.pdf -‐ Guidance for UK higher education providers


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Specific Local, Regional and National Info/Statistics: http://www.lancsvitalsigns.co.uk/Lancaster-‐r7.html http://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/?siteid=6235&pageid=36472&e=e https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/LMIMaps/Pages/North%20West/Lancashire.aspx http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/briefing-‐papers/SN05871/youth-‐unemployment-‐statistics http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05871/SN05871.pdf http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5695/alevel/unemployment-‐stats-‐and-‐graphs/ http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/517/economics/reasons-‐for-‐youth-‐unemployment/ http://www.ons.gov.uk – Office of National Statistics website http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-‐method/compendiums/compendium-‐of-‐uk-‐statistics/economy/index.html https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/396740/bis-‐15-‐4-‐growth-‐dashboard.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208715/bis-‐13-‐904-‐enterprise-‐education-‐impact-‐in-‐higher-‐education-‐and-‐further-‐education.pdf http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6275149&c=Lancaster&d=13&e=61&g=6441194&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1432130426929&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2513&nsjs=true&nsck=false&nssvg=false&nswid=1324 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_404873.pdf -‐ June 2015 ONS report on U.K employment levels http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_374941.pdf -‐ August 2014 ONS report on U.K self-‐employment