Young people aren’t launching start-ups, says UK200Group member
A member of the UK200Group of independent accountancy and law firms has commented on new research which shows a decline in entrepreneurialism among young people.
According to a report commissioned by Google the majority of young people outside London are not interested in starting a business. Google’s study of 1,000 15- to 18-year-olds based outside London found that 80% would rather work for a well-established company, while half said that they did not want to take any risks when it comes to making money through their own enterprise.
Jonathan Russell, partner at UK200Group member firm ReesRussell, said:
“This survey would accord with our experience in west Oxfordshire. Job security is a major issue, as is work – life balance and the majority of the younger generation are more risk averse and less fiscally driven than their parents.
“In part this may be because they have seen the stresses created for their parents and would rather not have similar experiences themselves. We are also seeing greater collective decisions made within couples rather than one party dominating.
“We have had a period of relatively full employment where reasonably salaries can be earned without neither the risk nor commitments of entrepreneurship. The final issue for the younger generation is that with the problems of raising money for venture start-ups, unless family support is available, the opportunity for the young entrepreneur is limited.”
