Are young Entrepreneurs worth the investment....I'm Out!

With Entrepreneurship week drawing to a close, I wonder whether the graduates who embark on a career of self-employment would gain greater satisfaction utilising their entrepreneurial skill set within the confines of a larger organisation.

Perhaps the question (albeit rhetorical) should be; are organisations good at harnessing the skills and attitudes of students with strong 'entrepreneurial spirit' (thanks Lord Sugar)?

David Cameron was noted suggesting that Britain is entering the age of the entrepreneur and a survey by Enterprise UK last year found that over half of the country's teenagers, reared on the thrills of the TV show Dragons' Den / The Apprentice would like to run their own business.

Interesting results of the survey conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Week team (published on their website at www.gew.org.uk)

• Young people who attended events during this week said that they were 35% less likely to put off by fear of failure


• Some 45% of participants said that they were more likely to grow their business after attending an event during the week.


• There was an increase of 60% in the number of participants who considered entrepreneurship as a good career choice after the week.

What are the qualities of these individuals that make them so appealing? Inspired, self-confident, talented and enterprising to name a few. We now know entrepreneurial economies are developed by governments who harness competitiveness and provide space for growth, innovation and creativity. Do organisations do the same?

With mixed messages published about the changing landscape of the labour market for graduates, it is no wonder these highly driven individuals are tempted to go it alone.

If we are living in the age of the entrepreneur how can we give our budding graduate the chance to be proactive with their creative talents within a company.

The end result being that entrepreneurialism and traditional graduate programme are not mutually exclusive, and can give the Alan-Sugar-wannabes the same opportunities to grow.