A shortage of jobs for graduates combined with a growing entrepreneurial culture is helping to create a new generation of 'go-getters' willing and eager to go into business, claims new research.
Almost a third of UK students claim the difficulty in getting a job after leaving university has prompted them to consider seriously the idea of working for themselves.

New research found that almost a quarter of students (23 per cent) are either already running or about to launch their own enterprise before they even leave full-time education.
A survey of students graduating in 2010 and 2011 has revealed a strong entrepreneurial spirit with almost one third (32%) claiming already to have a business idea and making plans to become entrepreneurs in the near future.

Among the sectors favoured by students are retail and IT while 60 per cent said they were opting for a 'bricks and mortar' business over pure online enterprises.

Phenomenal success stories such as Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who founded Google as students, and Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moscovitz who started Facebook, have proved to be inspirational as have the likes of Richard Branson, who started his first venture aged 16, and Lord Alan Sugar.

“The British have always been an entrepreneurial nation to some degree and it is great that increasing numbers of younger people feel confident enough to embrace that at the outset of their careers,” said Emily Thomson of business improvement specialists Aspire Management Services, who provide business consulting and coaching services in Glasgow, central Scotland and farther afield.

“It is estimated that at the moment there are up to 69 graduates chasing every job vacancy so the more entrepreneurs we encourage the better.

“The business community needs to nurture the enthusiasm and ideas of these students and offer as much advice, help and experience that we can. Their success will ultimately help to create sustainable success and wealth for the country as a whole.”
According to the survey almost one in five (19%) of students started their courses intending to be self-employed at some stage while nearly a quarter (23%) have been running money-making enterprises while studying or are in the process of setting up now.

While 10 per cent of students have no intention of running their own business straight after graduation the intention is that they will work for themselves in the future. Around a quarter of those surveyed (28%) said they aimed to be running their own business by the age of 25 while a third (34%) said they’ll be their own boss by the age of 30.

"It's extremely encouraging that despite the knock on effects of the recession on the job market, the best of British entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking amongst the next generation as many look to set up in the future,” said  John Heaney, SME expert at Hiscox which commissioned the research.

"However, there are both risks and rewards in the business world, and aspiring entrepreneurs may find that gaining some life and employment experience or gaining specific professional qualifications before taking the plunge, would give them the best base for future success."