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Press Release

A golden future might not mean University, A-level students told

16 August 2007

As A-level exam results are published, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has congratulated students on their success but has also reminded them that starting their own business may be much more rewarding for them than going to University.

Only a quarter of small business owners have a degree (27.7%) with nearly half (48.4%) having GCSE or equivalent and professional qualifications instead. An eighth of entrepreneurs (12.7%) have no formal qualifications at all.

The FSB also reiterated its opposition to the Government’s target to get fifty per cent of young people into University. Such an arbitrary target does not focus on the needs of business or the economy for skilled workers in more than just academic disciplines. The FSB is concerned that the target could also be diverting potential entrepreneurs onto the wrong career path by making them see University as their only viable option.

Colin Willman, FSB Education and Skills, said:

“I congratulate all A-level students on their successes this year. They should be proud of their achievements.

“I would like to take this opportunity to remind them that many of our most successful business people never went to University. It will be suitable for some students who have passed their A-levels to go on to Higher Education but other equally successful students will already have their entrepreneurial ideas ready for action. If that is the case, it might be better for them to strike while the iron is hot rather than wait three or four years at University, by which time the chance may have passed.

“The Government’s wholly arbitrary target to get fifty per cent of our young people into University is not in the interests of the UK economy. Students who have just passed their A-levels should do what they think is in their own best interests. Setting up a successful, growing business and, over time, employing people could be much more rewarding for them and far better for Britain.”



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Federation of Small Businesses

Federation of Small Businesses

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