Campaign to put enterprise on the timetable

A campaign has been launched by 188 companies and educational organisations to place entrepreneurship on the ‘statutory curriculum’ in UK schools.

A number of Yorkshire-based companies, including Hull-based safety clothing and equipment firm Arco, have signed up to the Young Enterprise Charter which calls for Government action to ensure school leavers and university graduates are ready for work.

The campaign’s supporters include senior figures from the Institute of Directors (IOD) in Yorkshire, who have warned that many young people don’t understand the world of work.

According to the campaigners, many senior executives report that young recruits lack “employability” skills such as a readiness to accept responsibility and the ability to solve problems.

Too many young people lack an awareness of the importance of customer service and can’t find a practical use for abstract knowledge, the campaigners claim.

Ian Smith, chairman of Young Enterprise, which is an enterprise education charity, said: “The response to the Young Enterprise Charter has been astonishing. The line-up of businesses, organisations and individuals who have backed our call for enterprise education to be made part of the National Curriculum cannot be ignored.

“We fully support high academic standards. But too heavy a focus on the purely academic approach runs the risk of downgrading other learning styles.”

Young people need to be taught about the importance of honesty, integrity and punctuality, Mr Smith said.

He added: “So the message to the Government is that Young Enterprise doesn’t deserve exclusion from the curriculum, because we can actually promote success in the classroom.

“And my message to business is no less critical. I am utterly fed up of sitting in business meetings listening to people complaining. They are trying to blame their own failures on the attitude of the British worker, and particularly young people entering employment. If you want to change it, don’t just sit in meetings moaning, get yourself and your employees out among young people as business mentors.”

On Monday, Young Enterprise published a survey based on responses from 28 major employers and professional organisations.

Seventy five per cent of respondents said the British education system was not equipping young people with the skills they need to enter the workforce.

The campaign’s supporters include the IoD, Beverley High School and the Hull Esteem Consortium, Hull City Council’s private sector partner.

Margaret Wood, the chairman of Yorkshire IoD, said it was important for pupils to be taught practical life skills, because they will be given the job of rebalancing the economy.

She added: “We have a generation that really don’t understand the practical side of work.

“There needs to be a mutual respect for the needs of academic achievements and the practical skills that will fire the economy back up. We have been too busy teaching the academic and not the practical skills.

“We used to have a very strong programme that instilled practical subjects in young people. That has disappeared.”

Charlotte Britton, the chairman of the IoD West Yorkshire branch, said: “Supporting our young people so they have the right skills to improve their chances of getting employment is vital to the success of our economy. 

“We need to ensure we have the right skills to grow the productivity and efficiency of our regional and national economy.

“There will be a lag behind implementing any change and young people emerging with the employability skills that are so vitally needed.

“We need to take action promptly to ensure that this issue isn’t exacerbated.”

Natalie Sykes, of the IOD’s Yorkshire Young Directors Forum, said the UK couldn’t compete on the global stage without investment in youth enterprise.

She added: “It isn’t just about the UK any more.

“Technology has moved on so much that industry must be able to respond globally and that is why it is vital we equip our young people to work in the new industries.”

[email protected]