Council’s backing to help young start their own enterprises

The project is part of the Get Bradford Working scheme. It will provide up to £90,000 of funding opportunities for the voluntary and community sector to develop initiatives that give young people early support to develop their own enterprise.

The launch is taking place tomorrow at a special event for community and voluntary service organisations.

The Step Up to Business project has been developed in response to research undertaken by Bradford University School of Management and Barnardo’s.

The research showed that supporting young people to develop skills that enable them to run their own business could bring them and the local economy long-term benefit. The research included a case study on Finn, who is 17 and lives at home.

He is not in education, employment or training and currently mends friends’ motorbikes, but aspires to be a mech- anic.

He said: “I’d love my own business. I’ve always wanted one. I don’t know what would help – I’d need to find out about it.”

Finn said he knew he would need money to get started and someone to help him understand the basics of business administration.

Kathryn Loftus, an officer from Bradford Council, said: “We know from the research undertaken that there is an important role to play in helping enterprises operating ‘off the book’ to move into the formal economy.

“This is a partnership initiative between the council and the voluntary sector.

“We expect all the organisations involved to work together so that we can offer the best support we can to young people.”

Coun Ralph Berry, portfolio holder for children’s services at the local authority, said: “This is a fantastic project that will help young people who have the enthusiasm and drive to set up their own business but maybe lack some of the knowledge and formal skills to do so.

“We want to reach as many of these enterprises as possible to support their business move to a formal setting that both helps their long-term success and adds to the local economy.”

Interested organisations can find out more about the grants and application process by contacting Ms Loftus on 01274 385831 or 07582 108759.

Application forms are available from www.bradfordcvs.org. uk

The closing date for applications is September 27.