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Are you a ‘can I?’ or an ‘I can’? That was the question posed today by Peter Jones as he launched his National Enterprise Academy, in conjuction with the government.
Aimed at unlocking the entrepreneurial talents of Britain's teenagers, the first academy will open in the South East followed by another in the North West and a national roll-out of satellite academies.
They will offer a new qualification in enterprise to students over the age of 16 - giving them the skills to start their own businesses. It will also have a broader remit of raising enterprise awareness and is part of a £30m government commitment to boosting enterprise education.
For Jones it’s about changing the mindset of the next generation of UK entrepreneurs: "There is a stark difference in the entrepreneurial mindset between the UK and the US. Here, there tends to be a 'can I?' approach, whereas in the US the 'I can' belief is instilled from an early age.”
“We need to create the right learning environment for all our children, where their talents can be developed so they can go out into the workplace or business and prosper.”
Bravo then to Jones for using his Dragons’ Den profile so positively, and the government for backing him.
We just hope the delivery of the course matches its objectives, so students graduate with the skills, not just the mindset, to turn ‘you can’t’ rejections into ‘I can’ results once they hit the real world. Surely that's the real challenge?
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Doesn't anyone else find it sad that the UK government is investing a mere £30M in enterprise education take out the £4M they're spending on this and what does it leave £26M spread across how many schools - thousands? It probably amounts to no more that a few thousand pounds per school.