Developing Enterprise Skills of all ages within the SW

Enterprise is about establishing and growing businesses but, more importantly, about establishing an entrepreneurial culture within the existing and future workforce. A strong entrepreneurial base is an essential driver of growth and prosperity in a modern economy.  The South West has the highest proportion of small enterprises of any region in the UK, coupled with significant levels of self employment. Effective support for new and existing business is therefore one of the key tools for supporting increased productivity.  In order to build a sustainable enterprise culture, the region needs to invest in the development of enterprise skills.

The RSP will:

• Support the outcome of the SLIM study on Enterprise Training in the region as the basis for the development of a region wide strategy aimed at improving the scale and impact of enterprise training in the region.

• Support the building of capacity within schools, colleges and voluntary sector bodies to provide teaching expertise, brokerage, volunteer entrepreneurs and enterprise placements etc. 

• Examine the scope to develop universities as enterprise centres through better commercialisation of research, the provision of enterprise networks for graduating students and the use of incubator spaces as enterprise hubs.