The Dragon and friends urge Britain's firms to do more to nurture young business talent

Theo Paphetis

 Business leaders are urging graduates and young people to become more enterprising and commercially aware in order to find the jobs they want and help to boost business.
Their plea comes at a time when finding a job is harder than ever for young people. Figures show that youth unemployment figures stood at almost a million this Autiumn,  while research by the Chartered Institute of Personal Development found that 58 per cent of graduates said they had been unable to find a suitable job. Nearly a third claimed their degree did not equip  them with the skills they needed for the workforce.

It is a problem for businesses too, especially for smaller firms, who usualy have fewer resources to train up poorly equipped or untrained staff.

Business leaders including Sir Stuart Rose, former executive chairman of Marks and Spencer, and Dragons’ Den judge and entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, believe that firms have a role to play in supporting enterprise education – arming young people with the skills they believe to be important – in order to create a better equipped workforce.

Research published by Young Enterprise, shows that business leaders are increasingly looking for skills beyond academic achievement when they take on young recruits, with attitude, drive, communication and commercial awareness skills being core.
Phil Smith, the chief executive of technology firm Cisco Systems UK and Ireland, said displaying innovation and being able to show extra skills is vital for the future of the UK. He says: ‘It is crucial that young people get exposure to environments that allow their entrepreneurial skills to flourish if we are going generate the innovation the UK will need to lead in the future. Young enterprise programs play a vital part in providing that environment.’

Sir Stuart Rose agrees. He says: ‘Businesses need to work closely with educational institutions to help bridge the gap between academia and the work place and provide students with practical opportunities to develop business relevant skills like decision making and team-work.’

Theo Paphitis points out that most graduates and school leavers will have had little or no experience of business and entrepreneuralism. He adds: ‘Realistically, unless someone has had the good fortune to be involved in an initiative such as Young Enterprise, they are unlikely to have had any business experience if they start work straight after school or university.  As well as supporting Young Enterprise I have championed an Enterprise Development degree at the University of Huddersfield that teaches graduates the skills needed to run their own business.’             
‘By nurturing entrepreneurs we can go a long way to improve the health of the economy.  Typically, 50 per cent of businesses fail within their first two years, so if we can teach people to learn from other people’s mistakes and change the success rate for the better, we can have a massive impact on our economy.  Over 500,000 people start up their own business every year.’

Many business figures also believe the government could do more to support and encourage entrepreneuralism among young people and in turn encourage the chances of businesses thriving.

Adds Paphitis: ‘The government is helpful but I’d love to see more being done.  For example, there are thousands of students who are poor academically but could make great businessmen and women. ‘