As thousands of students prepare to graduate this summer, many will no doubt be wondering how the current economic climate will affect their job prospects.
But over 40 students from across Yorkshire and Humber have taken matters into their own hands and are setting up their own businesses with the help of an enterprise Boot Camp.
Funded by Yorkshire Forward, the four day Entrepreneurs Boot Camp t
akes place in Beverley, East Yorkshire and will provide the budding entrepreneurs with an intensive insight into the challenges and opportunities that come with starting up in business.
To get them into shape for self employment, delegates will attend a range of workshops and seminars that will cover topics from financial planning and tax issues to marketing and how to network successfully. Sessions will be hosted by professional support advisors such as Business Link Yorkshire and HM Revenue and Customs, as well as former Boot Camp conscripts like Allison Whitmarsh, who set up her own company ProperMaid Ltd after attending the Entrepreneurs Boot Camp in 2008.
Allison set up ProperMaid Ltd after graduating from the University of Huddersfield with a degree in hospitality management and deciding to combine her qualifications and her love of baking to form a company that produced home made baking 'with a twist'. She attended the Entrepreneurs Boot Camp and also received funding from the Huddersfield Loan Fund and Business Link Yorkshire to get her started.
Initially supplying farmers markets and food festivals, ProperMaid developed a healthy customer base. After exceeding capacity from home ProperMaid moved into rented premises. Supply arrangements are currently in place with Booths Supermarkets and talks are ongoing with Asda & Morrisons.
Allison will be using this experience to advise this year's Boot Camp recruits on some of the issues they need to consider as they start their business.
She explains; "I originally planned to use my catering background by teaching food technology, but the opportunity to start my own business was too great and I have never looked back.
"The Entrepreneurs Boot Camp was a great way for me to get some intensive training and support in the areas that I needed to think about in order to make my business a success – like my finances and how I would market the company – but actually running my business has taught me so much, I cant wait to go back this year and pass on my experiences to the next round of entrepreneurs."
This year's Boot Campers include students from the Universities of Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Huddersfield and Hull, as well as Leeds Met, Sheffield Hallam and Leeds College of Music. Their ideas range from website design and online nutrition programmes to fashion design and translation services.
The Boot Camp is part of Yorkshire Forward's Graduate Enterprise Programme, which is delivered by Huddersfield University to encourage students across the region to start up their own business. The programme takes place in 11 of the region's universities and covers a range of topics that students can study in addition to their normal degree programme. The programme expands on a similar pilot scheme that ran for three years in West Yorkshire and created 173 new businesses.
Alex McWhirter, Assistant Director of Enterprise at Yorkshire Forward explains; "Whilst there is no doubt the jobs market is tough at the moment, it is fantastic to see students from the region taking matters into their own hands and turning their business idea into reality.
"Regardless of the recession, we need more innovative entrepreneurial individuals and young companies to come through in our region and add to our business stock.
"This programme allows students and graduates to develop these skills in tandem as developing their academic knowledge, so that they can offer a rounded skills base to employers or go on and set up on their own.
"It is a great programme that has delivered some inspirational successes for the region, like ProperMaid Ltd, and I am really excited to see what new ideas will come through this year's Boot Camp."
