GOVERNMENT AND LEADING ENTREPRENEURS TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE BUILD CHARACTER REQUIRED TO THRIVE IN BUSINESS

Education Secretary Damian Hinds will today call on the country’s leading entrepreneurs to work in partnership with the government to inspire young people to become entrepreneurs.

The summit will be attended by some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs including Henry de Zoete who co-founded Look After My Bills and secured funding from the TV show Dragon’s Den which described the business as ‘the best deal in history’ for consumers. Also in attendance will be Akshay Ruparelia who started estate agency doorsteps.co.uk at aged 19, Holly Tucker who is co-founder of Notonthehighstreet and founder of Holly & Co and health and wellbeing influencer, author and personal trainer Alice Liveing who has over 600 thousand followers across social media.

Mr Hinds will ask these great business leaders to advise the Government on how the education system might better support and inspire young entrepreneurs – and discuss the character traits young people need to succeed in business.

Earlier this year, Mr Hinds set out his 5 foundations for building character – sport, creativity, performing, volunteering & membership, and the world of work and it is this last foundation that the discussion today will focus on. We want to improve opportunities for young people to  learn about the world of work and give them the confidence to explore what experiences are open to them.

At the summit, Mr Hinds will say:

“We can all look back at our time in school and remember people that may have not done that well at exams but have gone on to do something amazing – such as start a business and create jobs for others.

Those people have the confidence to take a chance on an idea, the drive to keep going and the resilience to bounce back if something goes wrong. I want young people to develop these character traits and leave formal education as happy, confident and well-rounded individuals.

“Character and resilience are the qualities and inner resources that we call on to get us through the frustrations and setbacks that are part and parcel of life. Today’s summit is all about finding out how we instill these traits in the young people who could be our business leaders of the future.”

Kelly Tolhurst, Minister for Small Business, will also join the discussion and detail the government’s Youth Entrepreneurship Review – backed by the Prince’s Trust – which aims to investigate obstacles and propose solutions to support enterprising young people from all backgrounds.

Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst will say:

“The UK consistently ranks as one of the most entrepreneurial nations in the world, but there is more we can do to break down the barriers that stop some of our best and brightest young people from starting their own business.

“We are committed to identifying these barriers through the Youth Entrepreneurship Review and tackling them through our Industrial Strategy. Today’s summit will be a great opportunity for us to hear the views of young inspiring business leaders on what support our young people need to take the next step in becoming the entrepreneurs of the future.”

The Education Secretary has been clear that there will be no further changes to the national curriculum this Parliament, but the summit will provide a platform to help shape future policy considerations in the careers and entrepreneurship space.

The Department for Education already has a number of programmes operating in schools, which provide children with exposure to a breadth of career options. The Government Careers Strategy, published in December 2017, sets out how we are giving young people more opportunities to meet employers in a range of sectors and business models.

To date, the Careers & Enterprise Company’s network has connected over 2000 schools and colleges with Enterprise Advisers – senior business volunteers who are helping them to build relationships with local businesses.

Initiatives such as the Enterprise Adviser Network and Young Enterprise see thousands of children every year introduced to the world of work. With small and medium sized businesses accounting for the majority of employment opportunities in the UK, and with more people than ever running their own business, entrepreneurship education is an increasingly important component of high quality careers provision.