Call for action to prevent a lost generation of tycoons

Group Political Editor

Wednesday 8 June 2011

BUSINESS and political leaders have urged the Government to do more to back entrepreneurs after a warning that Scotland has lost a generation of young tycoons.

Custom byline text:

Brian Currie Political Editor

They say a fresh look at enterprise policy is needed with a business start-up fund being created and easier lines of credit established and suggest Scotland could learn from Wales, which introduced a successful entrepreneurship action plan more than a decade ago.

Their calls follow The Herald’s report yesterday which revealed there were fewer “thirty-something” business leaders aspiring to follow the current crop of successful Scottish tycoons such as Sir Tom Hunter, Duncan Bannatyne or Michelle Mone.The research for the Global Enterprise Monitor (GEM) by Dr Jonathan Levie, of Strathclyde University’s Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, was praised by Colin Borland, of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), who said the centre was to be applauded for producing “such an important and politically impartial piece of research”. The Scottish Government claimed that while the report was a “useful contribution” it did not necessarily reflect “actual outcomes or the wider picture”.But Mr Borland said that while an organisation like Business Gateway, which offers support for start-ups, was busier than ever, the statistics produced by Mr Levie and other data from sources like the clearing banks suggested their efforts were having no real impact.He pointed to a section in the report highlighting a spike in business start-ups in Wales that may be attributed to an entrepreneurship action plan implemented 11 years ago and focusing on mandatory enterprise training in universities and colleges.“The FSB would argue this merits more investigation by the Scottish Government. We need to make sure we use all the levers at our disposal to ensure the current crop of leading businesses is not our last,” he said. CBI Scotland’s assistant director David Lonsdale said the Government could help by prioritising a return to stable growth and low inflation, which offer ideal conditions for business start-ups. He added: “Readings on Scotland’s entrepreneurial barometer may have dipped over the past few years, but this could prove temporary as economic conditions improve and as the tax regime becomes more attractive to those keen to establish or grow their own business.”The GEM report shows Scotland has a 3.7% business start-up rate among the working-age population against a UK average of 5.6%. Fear of failure has risen from 31% in 2007 to 43% in 2010 and fewer people Scots aged 18 to 23 were likely to set up a business than elsewhere in the UK. Tory spokesman Gavin Brown said the findings were “worrying”.He added: “That is why Scottish Conservatives are stepping up calls for a Scottish Business Start Up Fund to support access to enterprise education, vocational training, and to provide grants and loans to assist in the creation of new businesses. “We want to make it compulsory to offer enterprise training at all colleges and universities, in partnership with local businesses.”Labour spokesman Richard Baker said: “There is no doubt we need to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders to generate growth and Government has a vital role to play as an enabler.“If this is not happening, we need action from ministers to take forward proposals for an enterprise policy action or a similar plan.” A Scottish Government spokeswoman said official statistics on VAT/PAYE, which measure business start-ups, indicated Scotland has been improving relative to the rest of the UK and with a higher increase in new business registrations since 2002 than the UK as a whole. She said: “We are focused on embedding a culture of entrepreneurship in our young people through entrepreneurship education at all levels. “This includes our Determined To Succeed strategy for schools, right through to collaborative ventures with universities such as the Scottish Programme for Entrepreneurship and the Scottish Institute for Enterprise which will help students in Scotland to discover their entrepreneurial talent and start up their own ventures.”

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Call for action to prevent a lost generation of tycoons

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED