Too much, too soon?

By LBV

07 Oct 2009

TV programmes such as ‘The Apprentice’ show us examples of would be young entrepreneurs, and television news programmes bring us stories of young people demonstrating entrepreneurial fl air at an earlier and earlier age. During their school’s ‘enterprise week’ recently my daughter and her friends managed to threaten the viability of the school canteen by selling pies from a local bakery to pupils during their lunch break. Indeed, in this and other issues of Lancashire Business View, there are many examples of young entrepreneurs who have gone on to achieve real success.

The Pennine Lancashire ‘No Limits’ programme has now helped to launch more than 800 new businesses. Over 20% of these have been started by people under the age of 25, and young people have been a target group for our promotional activities. So why is there this focus on enterprise in young people?

Undoubtedly the value of entrepreneurs and the small business sector to the UK economy is very important. And at a time of recession we need a constant supply of new small businesses to offset the massive job losses occurring across the economy. Starting a business when leaving school or college is now a viable option for many young people.

But in my view some of this pressure for individual young people to succeed in their own business is unfair. What we should be encouraging in children of school age is entrepreneurial behaviour and entrepreneurial thinking, whether or not this manifests itself in these young people going on to set up their own businesses.

Many programmes have been introduced to encourage enterprise in schools and colleges – over a dozen at the last count. But it is important that we put these in perspective – their aim need not be to turn out hundreds of budding Alan Sugars – their objective should be to encourage young people to be enterprising in their thinking and behaviour. By this I mean such things as independent thinking, confi dence, forward thinking, negotiation skills, creativity, people skills – whilst all of these will equip young people with tools to start up in business, they will also make them better students and better potential employees once they have left school.

I talk to many business managers and signifi cant numbers of them complain about the standard of young people applying for employment. Rather than being focussed on academic achievement, what employers are looking for is young people who can express their ideas, who can be creative, who can talk confi dently, who can work as part of a team. It is these skills that school enterprise programmes need to be encouraging and these are the
outcomes that should be valued, rather than counting the number of pupils who have gone on to start their own businesses.

Steve Hoyle is the commercial director at Elevate.

 

Enjoyed this? Read more from LBV

Latest news

1

Morecambe shortlisted in National Visa Awards celebrating the UK’s thriving towns David Waddington and John O'Neill

Morecambe shortlisted in National Visa Awards celebrating the UK’s thriving towns

04 Jul 2025

2

County council sets out 'areas of focus for 2025-26 in document Coun Stephen Atkinson

County council sets out 'areas of focus for 2025-26 in document

04 Jul 2025

3

Warden Construction completes project to help Preston school double pupil numbers Warden Construction completes project to help Preston school double pupil numbers

Warden Construction completes project to help Preston school double pupil numbers

04 Jul 2025

4

Grant Thornton advises RJ Power Networks on sale to Ipsum Jamie Roberts

Grant Thornton advises RJ Power Networks on sale to Ipsum

04 Jul 2025

5

College principal resigns Karen Buchanan

College principal resigns

04 Jul 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV123 July/August Launch Event
Lancashire Business View magazine launch
Networking
16 Jul 2025

LBV123 July/August Launch Event

Burnley

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

Tri-Site Survey Equipment Showcase
unnamed (2).jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
09 Jul 2025 - 09 Jul 2025

Tri-Site Survey Equipment Showcase

Crow Wood Hotel, Burnley, BB12 0RT

09:30 - 16:00

Blackburn Cathedral hosts Champagne and Diamonds Event with Ainsworth Jewellers
Champagne-Jewellery 10 07 25_page-0001.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Awards
10 Jul 2025 - 10 Jul 2025

Blackburn Cathedral hosts Champagne and Diamonds Event with Ainsworth Jewellers

Blackburn Cathedral, Blackburn, BB1 5AA

18:00 - 20:30

Choose Chorley for Business - Talent Reimagined Business Breakfast
talentreimaginedbb.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
10 Jul 2025 - 10 Jul 2025

Choose Chorley for Business - Talent Reimagined Business Breakfast

Strawberry Fields Digital Hub, Chorley, PR71PS

08:00 - 10:30

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past
1750160034867.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Jul 2025 - 16 Jul 2025

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:30

Chamber Summer BBQ
LBV Hub Social
17 Jul 2025 - 17 Jul 2025

Chamber Summer BBQ

The Borough, Dalton Square, Lancaster, LA1 1PP

17:30 - 20:00

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?
July Longer Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
29 Jul 2025 - 29 Jul 2025

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 19:30

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July
Longer July Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
31 Jul 2025 - 31 Jul 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Cumbria Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-880461633-4862066883-1-original.20241022-110415.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Exhibitions
19 Sep 2025 - 19 Sep 2025

Cumbria Business Expo 2025

Carlisle Racecourse, Carlisle, CA2 4TS

09:00 - 15:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin