George meets Sir Richard Branson to highlight importance of promoting self employment in rural communities

Speaking in Parliament this morning in a debate on the merits of promoting self employment to school leavers, George highlighted the particular importance of self employment to the rural economy, the importance of helping school leavers experience self employment through mentoring schemes like The Norfolk Way work experience Bursary, and the need to encourage non-academic school leavers to realise the opportunities self employment offers.

The morning’s debate followed the recent launch of the Virgin Media Pioneers report Control Shift: The rise of the young entrepreneur which sets out a number of recommendations to Government and to the business community about the practical support budding entrepreneurs need to grow their business. Sir Richard Branson joined the debate to hear the contribution of ideas from MPs.

Speaking after the debate George Freeman said:

“A vibrant Norfolk needs a vibrant rural economy with lots of small businesses and self employment. We must prepare our youngsters not to expect a job for life, but to instead be enterprising and prepared to be self employed at some stage in their career. Already the UK rural economy in places like Norfolk has traditionally had high levels of self employment, but the new jobs of tomorrow, whether in the fast growing sectors of media and technology or in locally sourced speciality foods and crafts, also rely heavily on self employment.

“Sir Richard Branson didn’t go to University; he started the Virgin Empire with £300. It now employs 60,000 people and is worth billions. I fully support the Virgin Media proposals and am delighted that Sir Richard Branson has agreed to meet with me to discuss The Norfolk Way Bursary and how we can help to promote Norfolk's rural entrepreneurs who together will build the businesses of tomorrow.”

FULL TEXT:

George Freeman: I congratulate my hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) on raising this important debate. I also congratulate Virgin on the support and work that it is doing in this field. Like many hon. Members here, I am sure that he agrees—he has touched on this—that part of what we must do is to help those youngsters who do not have the experience of entrepreneurship and self-employment through their family, so that they can experience it through schools. Many of us in our constituencies can help and, indeed, are helping with schemes. In my constituency, we have set up a programme called the Norfolk Way enterprise bursary and we are linking school leavers with local businesses, which can be very empowering. Lastly, does my hon. Friend agree that it is very striking that some of our best entrepreneurs, for example, Richard Branson and Bill Gates, are not graduates? They started their businesses pre-university, which sends a very powerful message to youngsters who are feeling disillusioned and disengaged by the mainstream curriculum. Some of our most deprived communities could benefit hugely from such initiatives.

Richard Harrington: My hon. Friend makes very valid points. I hope that I speak for all hon. Members involved in this debate when I point out that Richard Branson and Bill Gates are examples of people whom we would regard as being very successful and would look up to. Both Richard Branson and Bill Gates were rejects from the mainstream academic system. Obviously, when I say “rejects,” I do not mean that they were not up to it, but that they were, through whatever personality they had or whatever came about, not part of it. My hon. Friend’s helpful intervention supports my argument, rather than the other way round.

Links:

| The Norfolk Way
| Virgin Media Pioneers
| Control Shift: The rise of the young entrepreneur
| Hansard