It has often been said that these are unchartered times during the pandemic and that our economies have been shifted irrevocably for the future – but not necessarily where they will shift to!

Whilst much of the future remains anxiety-ridden uncertainty, one truism remains – intelligence and innovation will drive our economy in the 20’s and beyond.

Moreover, and this was – and needs to still remain to be – a huge strength of the British economy, the power of new business start-ups will help us rejuvenate local, regional, national and global growth.

This is not something we need to force onto people; when I was Principal of City College Norwich we undertook a random online survey of our students – academic and vocational alike – and, even then (2010), over 60% wanted to become self-employed (particularly in the sectors most prevalent in the gig economies) or start their own business.

So, our problem becomes not the desire nor the supply but how do we best support our nation to seize the new opportunities that will undoubtedly arise as we move out of this unprecedented global recession?

One key way must be to provide those budding entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills to be better equipped to deal with the challenges inherent in starting off a new business (or indeed becoming self-employed) – like managing your finances or accessing investment finance or managing people.

Giving potential new business leaders these skills and knowledge may truly transform the capacity of our people; add to that further supporting them with the benefits of experience from existing entrepreneurs and you get a world class system for start-up development.

What we also need now are existing entrepreneurs to act as “start-up” ambassadors, helping people with great new business ideas get on the road to success. If you think you could help with this, message me on LinkedIn or contact info@edugrowth.co.uk.

The future’s bright for new thinking in the UK. We can all help make that happen!

Dick Palmer
Chairman