Fuelling Enterprise Culture

Unprecedented coalition of over 40 private and public sector organisations back enterprise action plan

Industry leaders and senior public sector figures have today joined more than 40 organisations to support the Make Your Mark campaignís enterprise culture action plan.

The Fuelling Enterprise Culture prospectus challenges organisations to raise their game and encourage enterprise in ways that put young people in the driving seat. The campaign is encouraging organisations in the recruitment sector to get behind the plan; it aims to get a total of 1,000 organisations across all sectors signed up in support.

It is not prescriptive but instead provides over 56 recommendations, which anyone, regardless of their place in society, can act upon to help deliver an enterprise culture among young people. These range from businesses integrating creativity and enterprise into employee development to media portrayals showing that there is no typical entrepreneur and that there are different styles of doing business.

Seen in one place for the first time it aims to mainstream enterprise, focusing on action not talk.

Fuelling Enterprise Culture has support from private sector organisations including Tesco, Orange, Vodafone, KPMG, Barclays, Dominoís, The Mall, BAA, eBay and BAE Systems and industry leaders including Adam Crozier (CEO, Royal Mail Group plc.), Sir Martin Sorrell (CEO, WPP), Ben Verwaayen (CEO, BT Group plc), Karan Bilimoria (CEO, Cobra), James Dyson (Chairman, Dyson), Richard Reed (co-founder, Innocent Drinks) and Dianne Thompson (CEO, Camelot Group plc.). Small companies in support include Freshminds, MJM International, Golley Slater and Glasses Direct.

The four main business organisations - British Chambers of Commerce, CBI, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors ñ are the founders of the Make Your Mark campaign and have endorsed Fuelling Enterprise Culture.

In an unprecedented boost to building an enterprise culture in the UK, members of the Enterprise Campaign Coalition, which is convened by the Make Your Mark campaign and, critically, includes the key statutory, voluntary and educational organisations in the UK have also endorsed this action plan, including:

Arts Council England - Association of Colleges- Black Training and Enterprise Group - British Chambers of Commerce - Business in the Community - CBI

Enterprise Insight - Federation of Small Businesses - Institute of Directors

Learning and Skills Council - The National Council for Graduate

Entrepreneurship - National Education Business Partnership Network

National Federation of Enterprise Agencies ñ Prowess - Quality Improvement Agency - Shell LiveWIRE - Social Enterprise Coalition - South East England Development Agency (representing Regional Development Agencies) - Specialist Schools and Academies Trust - The Princeís Trust ñ UnLtd

Fuelling Enterprise Culture was developed with the support of the Small Business Service of the DTI (which funds the Make Your Mark campaign), Scottish Executive and the Department for Education and Skills, but is independent of government.

Kevin Steele, chief executive of the Make Your Mark campaign and chair of the Enterprise Campaign Coalition says:

ìWe need a new enterprise generation ñ one quick to seize opportunities, take calculated risks and constantly blaze new paths to success. Fuelling Enterprise Culture is central to the campaign and, based on the support of such a stellar list of initial backers, we aim to mobilise 1,000 organisations that actively support its agenda.

ìThe drive to nurture enterprise talent needs business, education, government, voluntary organisations and the media to work together ñ no single sector or organisation working in isolation can create opportunities on this ambitious scale.î

Fuelling Enterprise Culture is about distilling the best from the public, private and voluntary sectors, whether it be the media showcasing entrepreneurial activity on TV; the government creating policies which successfully nurture skills, innovation and risk-taking to create a dynamic enterprise economy; educators behaving in more enterprising ways and enabling young people to follow their own path to success; or business encouraging their employees to be more innovative and enterprising.

The Make Your Mark campaign aims to inspire people in their teens and twenties to turn their ideas into reality ñ whether they are students, employees, aspiring entrepreneurs or at risk of social exclusion. This means giving them confidence, capability, opportunities and practical support to act on their ideas.