Alison Price, Siobhan ODriscoll

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WELCOME

• Alison Price, Siobhan ODriscoll Mandip Sandhu
• Business Start-Up_at_ Leeds Met

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Interactive Workshop

• Graduate entrepreneurs
• exploring background and issues for women
• Aim and approach
• exploring the role of university as a catalyst
  within Graduate Start-Up
• Towards a university sector response to SFWE.

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Female Graduate Entrepreneurs Discussion Items

• Why target this graduates?
• How to support this group?
• National / regional
• Is it working?
• Barriers / additional needs
• Role of support professionals
• Where next?

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Why Graduate Enterprise? National Drivers

• Changes in HEI sector
• Enterprise in Higher Education 1980s
• Dearing 1997
• Lambert 2003
• UK SEC 99
• Non SEC such as YF Business Start-Up
• National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship
  2004 -

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UK SEC Centres

• Science
• Engineering
• Cambridge MIT link

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Why Graduate Enterprise? National Drivers

• National Gender Profile of Start-ups
• Why female graduates?
• Changing graduate work patterns Current
  graduates should expect to have 19 jobs and 7
  different careers!
• More male graduates start-up (BCC)

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Why Graduate Enterprise? UK profile

• One third want to start-up
• 68 dont believe they have the skills
• 60 feel they wouldnt be taken seriously
• 52 anticipate leaving with 10-20K debt
• 27 celebrity role models but family more
  important!
• Lower entrepreneurial active than USA
• Source GEM YouGov (Guardian 2004)

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Why Graduate Enterprise?Why in West Yorkshire?

• Over 190,000 students in the region
• 100,000 enrolled on West Yorkshire University
  courses
• 26,000 graduates per year

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Why Graduate Enterprise?Why _at_ Leeds Met ?

• Leeds Met Regional University
• 52 female 48 male
• 58 part time 42 full time
• 4 already self employed
• 30 from family owned business backgrounds
• Data 2003-2004

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Why Graduate Enterprise?Our response _at_ Leeds Met

• Funded by Yorkshire Forward
• Partnership of 4 West Yorkshire Unis
• To create an innovative and creative environment
  within the university which will enable
  individuals to contribute to the growth of
  sustainable businesses.

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What is Enterprise?

• Enterprise is an inclusive concept
• the context in which subject disciplines can be
  explored
• challenging environment
• an approach, through skill development, which can
  be taken to the exploration and discovery of a
  discipline.
• skills of being enterprising  
• corporate perspective (as intrapreneurship)
• Creation of new ventures, social programmes and
  the exploration of new opportunities

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Why Graduate Enterprise?Our response

• In curriculum
• Outside class
• Idea Workshops
• Proven Idea workshops
• Summer School
• Role of Business Link West Yorkshire

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National Overview
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National Activity Summary

• Funding requirements - Post code lottery no
  reciprocal arrangements (home / host)
• Funding quantification (counts)
• Seasonality of availability (HEIs)

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Where are we?

• Grass roots activity
• Increasing
• Response to SFWE?

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West Yorks Students 03/04

• Entrepreneurial Intentions Survey
• 46 intend to become self employed
• 4 already are
• 59 male
• 46 SME family background
• 39 school experience

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West Yorks Female Graduates

• Slightly lower figures than male respondents
• 39 intend to become self employed
• Attitudes
• Males more risk taking
• Females more hesitant and conservative
• Actions
• Workshops

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Female Entrepreneurs?

• Profile of most entrepreneurial West Yorkshire
  Graduate
• White, male, undergraduate, aged 19-21
• Parents run a small-medium sized business
• Intending to start-up 6 years from graduation
• Have had enterprise experience at school
• Expects university support

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Female Graduates good news

• Solid repeat of last years findings
• Interest in start-up present in graduates
• Small positive changes
• Of those who intend to start up
• 7 intend to start up within 2 years (2003/4)
• 23 intend to start up within 2 years (2004/5)
• Data Warning 2 institutions (2,500 respondents)

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Female Graduates

• Introducing Mandip Sandhu

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DEBATE QUESTION

• What do female graduate entrepreneurs need to
  start up?
• Support?
• Additional inputs
• Provision?
• Female only incubators

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Barriers for Female Entrepreneurs (DTi)

• Lack of appropriate support
• Access to finance
• Impact of caring / domestic responsibilities
• Difficulties of transition
• Lack of appropriate role models
• Low levels of self esteem and confidence

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Issues for Aspirant Graduates

• Confidence - throughout start up process
• Finance perceptions / experience gaining
• Skills - investor ready
• Support - lack of role models mentoring generic
  offerings

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Conclusions

• Role of HEIs?
• Generic Offerings?
• Womens perceptions of own capabilities Targets /
  
• Classifications capturing the story?
• Routes for personal and soft skill development
  for women?
• Personal development planning