News

The Prosser Perspective.... a weekly column from Dover and Deal MP Gwyn Prosser

13 March 2008

Although the scourge of high unemployment in my constituency has been all-but eliminated since Labour took office in 1997 we still suffer from a skill shortage and this has inevitably impacted negatively on local pay levels.

The latest figures show that unemployment rates in our patch have been cut by 63% since the nineties and youth unemployment has been almost halved but there is still a need to do more to drive up skills and promote enterprise.

Britain is already one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business but we need to do more if we're to catch up with the levels of entrepreneurship that are present in the United States and that's why we have just unveiled our new Enterprise Strategy setting out what Government and business can do over the next 10 years to further boost the culture of enterprise in the UK.

As part of our drive to unlock the talent of all Britain ’s young people, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has just announced a new National Enterprise Academy , along with extra funding to take enterprise from the boardroom to the classroom.

The new National Enterprise Academy will open its doors early next year to unlock the entrepreneurial talents of Britain's teenagers - part of a joint initiative announced this week by the Government and the well known entrepreneur Peter Jones. The Academy idea is a long-held dream of Peter who is best known by his appearances in the BBC's Dragons' Den programme - but in his spare time he has been developing the new concept for some time.

It will offer a new qualification in enterprise to students over the age of 16 - giving them the right skills both for the workplace or to start their own businesses. It will also have a broader remit of raising enterprise awareness across the entire population and age range, including encouraging more women entrepreneurs – and the first Academy will open in our region.

Perhaps it would be over optimistic to expect the first one to be located in Dover but a whole series of satellite academies will follow so it’s a good time to start putting down markers for our local area, especially at a time when planners are drawing up proposals for prestigious sites like Connaught Barracks.

In parallel with the launch of the Academies, extra funding of £30 million will boost enterprise education supporting its extension to primary schools and further education colleges.

Entrepreneur Peter Jones believes there is a stark difference in the entrepreneurial mindset between the UK and the US which needs addressing and he says it’s evident from an early age and I agree with him.

If places like Dover are to reach their potential and if the UK economy is to continue to grow, we need to create the right learning environment for all our children, where their talents can be developed so they can go out into the workplace or business and prosper.