Degree of self-reliance as students go it alone

Amid reports of graduate training schemes being shelved and an increasingly competitive jobs market where many companies are demanding not only a 2:1, but work experience to back it up, there has never been a worse time to leave university.

According to the Association of Graduate Recruiters, with vacancies down by seven per cent, there is now an average of 69 people chasing each graduate job. The message is clear. Those without both a top-class degree and bags of practical skills need not apply.

Optimism has been in short supply for months, but there are those who believe that straitened times can be a catalyst for a revival of entrepreneurial spirit

The theory goes that when the economy is ticking over nicely and jobs are plentiful no-one needs to try that hard. When times are hard, the cream rises to the top.

Certainly, the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurs (NCGE), which was set up in 2004, has noticed a steady rise in the number of students seeking their advice over the last six years. One of them was Jamie Chaplin Brice, who originally studied furniture design at Sheffield Hallam University.

By the end of his second year, he was convinced he wanted to set up his own business. Returning to his family's farm in the Lake District, he secured a couple of grants to fund the necessary pieces of machinery, turned an outbuilding into a workshop and very soon Wudwork was launched. Three years on, he has eight months of orders on his books and absolutely no regrets.

"Sheffield Hallam had a really good enterprise centre, which really helped me get clear in my head what I wanted to do," he says. "Obviously, banks have tightened up on lending, but there is help out there, it's just a question of knowing where to look.

"Starting your own company in an economic downturn sounds like a terrible idea, but if you've done your research and know there is a market for what you do, I would say go for it."

Jamie now designs and makes everything from bespoke kitchen cabinets to more off-the-wall artistic commissions – one of his latest was a tilting coffee table that ensures it can't be used as a dumping ground for magazines. Using materials from a sustainable woodland and turning the off-cuts into firewood and sawdust, Wudwork also ticks the right environmental boxes.

"People no longer want furniture made out of chipboard and they are definitely willing to pay more for something that will last," says Jamie, who works on his own, employing contractors when needed. "The last few years have been a steep learning curve, but seeing your own business grow is a real sense of satisfaction."

While creative subjects have long been seen as breeding grounds for entrepreneurs, the NCGE is also keen to exploit the talent across all other departments and in particular target students who might otherwise remain inside academia.

Dr Phil Harper, who studied both his first degree and PhD at Sheffield University, didn't get any direct support from the organisation, but his story is a shining example of what can be achieved with one good idea and a little funding.

After receiving an award from the Royal Academy of Engineering and 3,000 of funding from the Business Link Innovation Voucher Scheme,

Phil remained in the city and launched Tribosonics Ltd. The company is now in its fourth year and has customers worldwide.

"I guess I'm not your typical PhD student, I'm not an academic geek and I always wanted to be involved in something which had a practical application," says the 32-year-old. "I grew up on a farm in Ireland and was used to buying and selling stuff from an early age. Business was always part of our family, so I guess I was never going to end up stuck in a laboratory."

Phil's university research was developing a system for measuring very thin layers and, while the science behind Tribosnics is baffling, his breakthrough is now used by those developing everything from artificial joints to mechanical seals.

"What we do is unique," he says. "It's an area which is really beginning to take off and while running your own business is really hard work, the rewards are immense. I'd find it very difficult now to work for someone else."

Of course not every graduate who has a Eureka moment succeeds. However, the NCGE is currently supporting 3,500 students considering starting their own business and estimate that nearly three-quarters will go on to do just that.

"The days when graduates went through the milk round and joined a company for life are long gone, but at the moment so are the days when someone leaving university could expect to walk into a well-paid job," says Alison Price, director of educator development at NCGE. "Graduates have to have an added extra and demonstrating entrepreneurial skills is part of that. Wind back a few decades and many university departments taught subjects in a very didactic way. What we do is show them how they can give students the same knowledge, but in a way that allows them to see its practical application.

"Traditionally, the old polytechnics always had a much more

entrepreneurial mindset, but now all universities recognise that part of their role is preparing students for the real world."

It's not just 20-somethings who are making the break. Donna Fraser had worked in mental health for a number of years before she decided to enrol for a degree in occupational therapy. The 40-year-old graduated from the University of Derby in 2006, but while it seemed natural to return to the medical profession, the idea of running her own business wouldn't go away.

"I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to work for myself," she says. "I had absolutely no business experience, just a real desire to see if I could start my own company. It was a case of stepping into the unknown, but the idea of being my own boss just really appealed."

After hearing about the NCGE's Flying Start course, various rethinks and back-to-the- drawing board moments, Donna came up with a business plan for FAB Cars, a Bradford-based company which sells accessories for female drivers. In the early days, she continued to work part-time as an occupational therapist, but is now running the business full-time and hopes to rent a small industrial unit.

"I've always been a bit of a car fanatic," she says. "I started selling a few accessories on eBay and realised there was potentially a big market. I now sell everything from little car vases with flowers in them to patterned tax disc holders and decorative stickers. The biggest challenge has been getting suppliers who realise that not all women like pink. At the moment, most of the business is online, but I am gradually making contact with other stockists."

Given her change of career, wouldn't it have been better to have bypassed university completely and gone straight to self-employment? Absolutely not, says Donna.

"Ultimately, I would like to use the skills I learned as an occupational therapist to supply car accessories for those who are disabled or who have specific requirements. Doing the degree not only gave me a skill to fall back on, but it also gave me the confidence to realise a dream."