Enterprise time has come in schools, colleges & training providers! No more excuses

After over 10 years of campaigning, the Hull Youth Enterprise Partnership can be very proud that the latest DfE information for schools and colleges  on Careers Advice and Guidance has the following clear and unambiguous guidance for our colleagues in schools, colleges and governing bodies.

1. Schools should offer pupils the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills for self- employment – and make it clear to them that working for themselves is a viable option (in fact it will be necessary for many). Pupils should receive the advice and support necessary to build and develop their own jobs, and have a clear understanding of potential barriers – whether real or perceived. 

2. A clear focus on the enterprise skills, experience and qualifications that employers want can support preparation for work. Schools should help pupils gain the confidence to compete in the labour market by providing opportunities to gain the practical know-how and attributes that are relevant for employment.

3. Colleges should ensure that students understand that self-employment or setting up their own business is one of the options open to them. Colleges should consider the importance of developing an enterprising culture to help students obtain the skills needed to succeed in self-employment. 

In my opinion as an enterprise champion for 15 years, the work of the Hull Youth Enterprise Partnership, Be Enterprising Group of practitioners, development of training programmes and enterprise passport for pupils, our £5 Blossom programme and the Big 13 enterprise skills www.hullready.co.uk (developed with our colleagues in Rotherham) the Badgers Sett Enterprise Challenge www.hullbadgers.co.uk, by which pupils win real cash and advice from entrepreneurs, our young entrepreneurs network - Lets Talk Business and  Youth Enterprise Bank www YouthEnterprise.co.uk, as well as our events and activities in Global Entrepreneurship Week www.gewhull.co.uk, are tools that we have developed in Hull for our enterprising young people that schools should now make use of along with the many other enterprising programmes run by individual partners involved in the Hull Youth Enterprise Partnership www.youthenterprise-hull.co.uk 

So let's step forward "enterprise skills and entrepreneurship" time has come and we have a duty to our young people to support them when we can with the support of schools and when this is not possible through our various community based networks - we need to continue to recognise those schools that do this already through our Youth Enterprise Awards, encourage those that do not to get involved through our networks in particular the Be Enterprise Group www.beenterprisinghull.co.uk and challenge, in a positive way, those that are not carrying out their duties clearly identified in the recent Careers Advice and Guidance statements from Department for Education published March 2015.

I for one believe schools and colleges as well as training providers, no longer have an excuse in saying enterprise is not important as DfE are clearly saying something else, Hull has a long tradition of supporting enterprise education in those schools that get it - now we expect and hope all Hull schools, colleges, training providers and indeed all those across the Humber and the UK get it and that LEPs in particular our own starts to accept its worth investing in those organisations and partners who have championed this agenda for years in order to create a more enterprising workforce of the future and of course more young entrepreneurs - so come on schools, colleges, training providers and funding agencies its up to you now back us so we enterprise educators can make a real difference.