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Entrepreneurship needs to start in schools, says panel
Insider | 23nd June 2011

The culture of entrepreneurship needs to be driven deeply into schools to create economic growth and job opportunities in Liverpool.

That was the message from a panel of civic and business leaders at the Hilton Hotel as part of Downtown's Liverpool Business Week.

"They think it's glamorous," said Natalie Haywood, managing director of Liverpool's Leaf Tea Shop and Bar, which she set up in 2008 as the country hurtled headlong into recession.

"It's hard work, but we should be teaching kids the softer skills, not those I was taught at university when I was told I'd be working for a major blue chip company.
"Those opportunities aren’t there anymore – they lie within smaller businesses and starting your own company."

Ged Fitzgerald, chief executive of Liverpool City Council, defended the city's entrepreneurial record, but conceded that much more needed to be done to reach young people.

"The perception is that we don't have entrepreneurs, but the culture is alive and well in our city," he said.

"We need to connect this ethos and mentality with the mainstream because 30 per cent of our employment base here is public sector, which is not sustainable. If you add a margin for the supply side, then it's 40 per cent.

"From September we are looking to tap into the schools and align with head teachers that are willing to bend the curriculum in this direction. We've got to get to the hearts and minds of young people in the city and let them know they can do it."

Jonathan Ortmans, chief policy adviser at the Kauffman Foundation, which will bring the Global Entrepreneurship Congress to Liverpool in 2012, said future growth was dependent on start-ups.

"In the US, all the net new jobs created in the past 25 years have been by companies that are less than five-years-old," he said.

"There has always been a lot of emphasis on the size of the firm, but what is more important is the age of the operation."

Representatives from 113 countries will descend on Liverpool to debate and share experiences on developing an entrepreneurial culture. Civic and business leaders hope it will go some way, alongside a series of initiatives, to promote and inspire people to start their own businesses.