Children who take part in a business education scheme at school go on to earn a third more than their peers and gain critical life skills, research found today.

The findings were welcomed by the Gazette’s finalist in the If We Can, You Can entrepreneurial challenge, Matt Stirland, who yesterday revealed that he planned to take business classes into local secondary schools.

A six-month study by FreshMinds consultancy found that graduates of the Young Enterprise Company Programme were typically earning between £40,000 and £45,000 after they reached the age of 30.

But their classmates who did not take part in the programme, which involves setting up and running a real company with help from a business volunteer, were earning just £26,000 to £30,000.

The research also said that through the scheme, children had developed better skills in areas such as risk-taking, teamwork, presentation and self-motivation. Mr Stirland said these were more important than financial reward.

He said: “Pay doesn’t inspire me, although if people develop business skills the money will follow. The value of schemes like this is that they teach young people how to market a business idea to customers and how to learn from failure.”

Rachael Anderton, the Young Enterprise charity’s deputy chief executive, said that almost six out of 10 pupils who had been on the scheme said they had a “good understanding” of career options when they left school. But only 46% of those who did not take part agreed.

Source: nebusiness.co.uk, UK
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