19 April 2005

New generation of empire building young brits

A crafty new breed of power-hungry young Britons is emerging, shunning the 9-5 life in favour of starting their own businesses.

A new report by the UK's leading vocational awarding body City & Guilds - Generation Enterprise - reveals that nearly half (49 per cent) of Britain#s young people¹ have a strong desire to go it alone rather than bow down to the demands of a boss. And it would seem that young men are more likely to take the plunge with nearly two thirds (63 per cent) wanting to set up their own business compared to just 44 per cent of young women.

Many of these youthful entrepreneurs are keen to get up and running as soon as possible. More than one in ten (11 per cent) will be setting the wheels in motion within a year while a further quarter (24 per cent) are raring to go in 12 months to five years.

These young self-starters kick in to touch the notion that the youth of today lack drive nearly half state that they are very ambitious and 70 per cent want to be in control of their lives. And this apparent ambition looks set to benefit the British economy as a quarter of those questioned (24 per cent) want to be millionaires.

There is certainly no shortage of successful role models in this country for the youth of today to aspire to. Richard Branson and Jamie Oliver top the league of most inspirational entrepreneurs for young people, followed by Anita Roddick, Bill Gates and Easyjet's Stelios. Multi-millionaire music moguls Simon Cowell and P Diddy were less popular business heroes.

Britain is already witnessing an uprising of entrepreneurs as the report shows that nearly half (48 per cent) of those questioned already know people under the age of 30 who have their own business.

Chris Humphries, director-general of City & Guilds, said: 'It's reassuring to see that many young people today are extremely ambitious and possess real entrepreneurial spirit. It's vital that, as a society, we encourage our young people to fulfil their vision by giving them as much support, guidance and skills as possible, as this will ultimately benefit them and the British economy.

'Starting up a business is challenging and rewarding. However, we would advise anybody taking this route to think about it carefully and make sure that they've got as much advice and information as possible. With the right training, planning and drive it's more than possible to achieve your goal in life. Successful entrepreneurs such as Jamie Oliver who went down the vocational route are living proof that you can be your own boss and run a successful business under the age of 30.'

The City & Guilds Generation Enterprise report makes a number of recommendations to employers and government about how they can help Britain's youth fulfil their entrepreneurial spirit. It also provides guidance to young people about how to set up a business.

This week, City & Guilds launched a £1 million national advertising campaign to raise awareness of the extensive range of vocational careers available to 16-19 year olds. Based on the premise that the real you is in there somewhere, the campaign strives to help young people see more of the full range of career options available to them, and demonstrate how vocational careers can be their route to success.

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For further information, please contact:

Andi Neophytou on 020 7419 6949 andi@bbpr.com or Georgie Carter on 020 7419 7329 gcarter@bbpr.com

Notes to editors:

The City & Guilds #Generation Enterprise # Report

City & Guilds has produced a report detailing the research.pdf (811kb). The report also contains advice for employers about how they can help entrepreneurs fulfil their ambition of setting up their own business.

Methodology : The research was undertaken by Tickbox.net in March 2005 and is based on a sample of 1,112 16-25 year olds.

City & Guilds (http://www.city-and-guilds.co.uk/) is the UK's leading awarding body for work-related qualifications. In total the organisation awards 1.2 million certificates to learners each year on over 500 subjects ranging from creative studies to catering, management skills to manufacturing.

#The real you is in there somewhere# national advertising campaign

The advertising campaign will be supported by a dedicated interactive youth portal, which has been set up to offer an understanding about new courses that have been created. The UK job market has inevitably been transformed by new technology and changing lifestyles, therefore fresh courses are needed to support this change. With the report identifying that close to half (45 per cent) are likely to set up their own business in IT and more than six in 10 (61 per cent) in retail, therefore support needs to be put in place for these youngsters.

¹ 1,112 16-25 year olds were questioned for this survey