Enterprise education, which helps develop young people’s entrepreneurial skills, is not part of the national curriculum.
The experience of young people moving through our education system is therefore frustratingly patchy. We believe this has led to a huge, missed opportunity within an education and skills system that isn’t adequately preparing young people for entrepreneurship.
Our research at FSB, in association with Simply Business, finds that while nearly 60 per cent of young people express an interest in owning a business, only 16 per cent have done so. Young people have entrepreneurial ambitions but this isn’t being sufficiently recognised by the government. And that needs to change.
So how can we turn that aspiration into reality?
It’s vital that enterprise education is valued throughout the education system. At a time when changes to the national curriculum are being considered, we need the government to make sure enterprise education is embedded into it, starting from key stages 1 and 2.
The curriculum should be reflective of the education and skills needed in employment, self-employment and life. Initiatives can be brought in, such as adopting an ‘Entrepreneurship Month’ during the academic year, to celebrate UK entrepreneurs and include activities like careers talks, persuasive writing challenges and entrepreneurship competitions. Some schools and colleges already do something similar.
Supporting schools, colleges and employers to guarantee two weeks’ worth of mandatory work experience for every young person would give an early, positive introduction to the workplace and provide a flavour of what it’s like to run your own business.
It’s important that we’re also equipping young people with the financial skills they need. Almost one-in-five young people say improved financial education in school and college would help them to set up or grow a business. We want to see the Department for Education making it compulsory for secondary and primary schools to deliver effective financial education at key stage 2.
The curriculum and assessment review is also an opportunity to consider whether those entering key stage 4 have basic digital skills and to review the current computing offering – which hasn’t been updated since 2013. We’d like to see the introduction of an applied computing GCSE, in addition to computer science, focussing on the digital skills required in the workplace and including the basics related to AI.
Role models can be a huge inspiration to pupils and students. We found that over a third of young entrepreneurs did not get guidance or support from local entrepreneurs coming into their school or college.
We know small business owners, including our members, love giving back to their community but often don’t know how to get involved. Giving business owners opportunities to share their experience can be so powerful in encouraging and inspiring budding young entrepreneurs.
Our data suggests young people mainly receive enterprise education through studying for qualifications such as GCSEs, showing the importance of incorporating entrepreneurship through subject study. Interestingly, sixth form and further education colleges are less likely than schools to expose young people to enterprise.
The Careers and Enterprise Company must play a role by actively recruiting young entrepreneurs as enterprise advisers, who play an instrumental role influencing and designing careers programmes in schools and colleges.
At university level, many institutions provide support for their students, alumnus, and sometimes to start-ups in their local community. Over a third of young people who attended university say it provided them with the knowledge, guidance and support regarding setting up a business.
But this support is patchy depending on location. In London, for example, 52 per cent report exposure to enterprise compared to 18 per cent in the South West. There’s opportunity here to improve collaboration between universities that run student entrepreneurship programmes with those that offer little or no support.
Ultimately, providing these skills early in the education process, then cementing and expanding them in higher education, would help increase the number of fledgling young business owners growing the economy. We know the ambition is there amongst young people – they must be given the support to take the rewarding, yet sometimes daunting, step into entrepreneurship.
Your thoughts