In her column for the Caerphilly Observer, businesswoman and Welsh ICE director Mandy Weston looks at the potential local impacts of the European Commission’s Action Plan for Entrepreneurship, details of which were announced earlier this month.
I am particularly delighted with news the EU Commission has put young people at the heart of its new Action Plan to increase entrepreneurship across Europe.
It is always difficult to tell what significance, if any, top-level directives may have locally but anything that prompts discussion and raises awareness of the need to foster entrepreneurship can only be a good thing.
The Action Plan summary shows 15% to 20% of students that participate in a mini-company scheme whilst in secondary school will go on to start their own company – three to five times that of the general EU population.
For Caerphilly and neighbouring areas developing and, most importantly, retaining the entrepreneurial talent coming out of our schools, colleges and universities is crucial in securing ongoing efforts to make the region a widely recognised area for business are successful.
It is essential young people have their eyes opened to the opportunities available on their doorstep without them having to consider opportunities available by moving elsewhere or that may involve extensive travel.
Of course, this is already recognised locally – many big employers in Caerphilly County have solid apprenticeship pathways in place, for example, and Welsh ICE has ensured enterprise students have more opportunities to work alongside inspirational start-ups based at the centre through a new partnership with Coleg Morgannwg.
So news the EU is supportive of these decisions and will be doing more to facilitate them is a great start to the New Year, as I do think the earlier we engage with these students and show them what they can achieve, the better.
Welsh ICE will certainly be encouraging its member businesses to develop their own work-experience initiatives in light of this report, as will fellow members of Caerphilly business community I’m sure.
On a personal note, I was also encouraged to see that supporting women and older citizens into entrepreneurship is also a key feature of the summary, which found that only a third of all EU citizens starting businesses or who are currently self-employed are women, even though more than half of Europe’s population is female.
Having started my own business, Wize Consulting, just last year I found support schemes aimed at my demographic were perhaps less visible than others, even though running your own business can bring greater flexibility when raising a family, for example, and despite the fact there are some amazing businesswomen already out there.