The Report on Small Firms 2010-2015, Lord Young's Report on Small Business in the UK

Today, the Prime Minister’s Enterprise Advisor, Lord Young, released his report into small business in the UK, The Report on Small Firms 2010-2015.

LordYoungAoCEnterprise

The report looks at the increasing number of start-ups, small firms and self-employment in the UK and the importance of enterprise education across all academic levels.

NACUE welcomes the interest and commitment from the highest levels of government to see enterprise become a prominent feature of the UK education system, and that this includes strengthening the work of student-led enterprise societies.

Commenting on the report Johnny Luk, Chief Executive of NACUE says:

“Lord Young is right to recognise the importance of equipping students with the skills needed to thrive during and after education.

We are particularly pleased that the report highlights the value of enterprise societies for embedding enterprise into education. There is also a significant proportion of these societies that focus on social action.

With a rapidly expanding small business sector, Enterprise Societies are well placed to help students develop the vital soft skills, such as team building and communication, referenced in the report.

The grassroots student-led approach can energise students from a variety of academic backgrounds, capturing and channelling their interest in enterprise and entrepreneurship."

Lord Young’s report also uses evidence from NACUE to emphasise the growth in young people launching social enterprises. Interest from our members in starting a social enterprise is noticeably increasing, and last year 19% of our members were involved in founding a social enterprise.

This report follows on from Lord Young’s ‘Enterprise for All’ report in June 2014, in which NACUE featured heavily. This made a wide range of recommendations, recognising that there is a critical role for extra-curricular activities across the entire education pathway, represented through initiatives such as the Fiver Challenge commencing in primary education and Student Enterprise Societies in the further and higher education sectors.

The Report on Small Firms 2010-2015 was published on Tuesday 10th February 2015 by Lord Young of Graffham. You can find full details (including the report itself) here.

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We've achieved a great deal in a short number of years, though there's much more too do in supporting our mission of 'Powering the Enterprise Generation'.

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Powering the Enterprising Generation

Our mission is to support the development of education and student engagement throughout college and universities by championing student enterprise societies and peer-to-peer learning. NACUE started from an extraordinary movement in student entrepreneurship, providing young individuals with a platform to be experimental, creative and inspiring in their approach to enterprise and entrepreneurship, encouraging a bottom-up approach to inspiring the next generation.

Today, we see over 200 enterprise societies, powered by peer-to-peer groups, who are championing the success of young people throughout their interactive programmes by forging collaborative relationships with their institutions to provide greater experience and development opportunities for their peers. Establishing regional links with locals SME’s who are keen to open their doors to emerging talented, proactive and enthusiastic graduates perpetuates this.

Our work is dedicated to supporting the development and encouragement of entrepreneurship amongst young individuals and forms the sole purpose of NACUE. To learn more about NACUE and the services we produce, click here.

As a not-for-profit, we raise charitable donations that allow us to widen the opportunities available to young people in relation to enterprise and entrepreneurship, strengthening student engagement, the quality of education and connecting and representing student enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs worldwide.

NACUE is a charitable organisation that supports 32,000 students and young people every year. As funding becomes harder to obtain, we rely on the generous support of donors to ensure our programs can continue to change the lives and aspirations of the younger generation.

A donation of any size goes a long way to furthering our work and really is greatly appreciated. Every gift matters in aiding our mission of ‘Powering the Enterprising Generation' but we mainly rely upon the generosity of our members and alumni to do this. By making a single or regular donation you can make a big difference. To learn more about how you can donate, please follow the links below.

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Large national network

NACUE are delighted to have supported a huge number of student-led societies over the years. You can see the number of established student-led societies on an interactive map below

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Who we work with

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are at the very core of NACUE, everything we do is to better the startup and self employment ecosystem. We believe that entrepreneurs will shape the future, and we bolster this through our events, our network and our advocacy.

Students

NACUE works with students in Colleges and Universities right across the UK, helping support them in their entrepreneurial goals and connect them with like minded peers.

Educators

NACUE works collaboratively with educators and academics in supporting the development of entrepreneurial mindsets in young people.

Our events

Our events offer the young people we work with the opportunity to connect with our wider network, the experts and seasoned entrepreneurs in our community and the chance to be inspired to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship. These events are attended by students and graduates from universities and colleges up and down the UK, as well as students from across Europe. Student Societies take centre stage at our events, alongside innovators, game changers and trail blazers of the UK startup ecosystem.

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The Student Enterprise Conference 2021

The difference we make

Alex Deung

Society President, Entrepreneurs Durham

It has been a great pleasure working closely with NACUE. NACUE has supported me both on big and small issues within my role. Without NACUE’s support, Entrepreneurs Durham wouldn’t be where it is today.

Wendy Funnell

Head, Centre for Entrepreneurship

The pleasure of seeing young people start something from nothing and watching them as they’re growing is wonderful. If we hadn’t had NACUE, we couldn’t do a lot of what we’re doing now. I can absolutely, categorically say that.

FE Student

FE Student, Enterprise Society

I am enjoying it (the enterprise society) a lot, and it’s great to be achieving something real. So often in college we plan to the point of doing the activity but then never actually do it.