What’ s Available
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS 71
What’ s Available
&
“ Come Get It”
Support for Young Entrepreneurs
Gavin Hine, the head of high growth start ups at Business Link South Yorkshire is at the sharp end of the government’ s support for young entrepreneurs. With South Yorkshire a government target area and one of the few places in the country to be given the top EU funding rating, Objective 1, he is keen to stress the opportunities on offer.
“ Support for young entrepreneurs exists on a number of levels, the key is to propagate the talent that comes out of universities and bring that forward into the business world.”
The recently released Leitch Review highlights how, in the future, British businesses will be trading more and more on their skills as Britain is increasingly priced out in terms labour and natural resources. The key, says Hine“ is not to let those skills slip off the grid in the transition from an idea to a business. Business Link support starts in universities with a programme called the Shell STEP programme, it takes students mainly from the second and third years and places them in businesses over the summer. Whilst the business gets the benefit of an extra pair of hands, the students get first hand experience of business.
Individual programmes are great but if they don’ t help to turn out successful businesses at the end then there’ s no point. That’ s why government support for entrepreneurs happens on a number of levels. Whilst it may start with support in universities, it runs through to advice and networking sessions, road shows and mentoring and training schemes such as“ Come and Get It” here in South Yorkshire.
The programmes vary from area to area so my advice to anyone thinking of starting a business would be to get in touch with your local Business Link and see what’ s available. The contact details of all the local business links are available on www. businesslink. gov. uk or by phone on 0845 600 9 006. Visit www. 20m4u. co. uk
ISSUE THREE 2007 engage | uk