Graduate Business Start-ups Project Report - The Institute for ...

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forwardly because it could be used to describe two types of situations, viz: ! the legal form of a business arrangement, such as sole trader, partnership or company, or ! a process which describes the development process of the life cycle of a business. In the specific context of graduate self-employment, one of the difficulties for research was to find appropriate comparators against whom to measure the level of activity. An appropriate comparator could enable conclusions to be drawn about the true level of graduate self-employment. Other difficulties encountered in researching graduate selfemployment were associated with methodology. First, selfemployment was not considered a static condition or status; increasingly, for some graduates, it had become part of a portfolio of career activities. Second, there was constant entry and exit which made it difficult to measure the true level using a particular point in time as a point of reference. Against this background, however, it was possible to arrive at a working definition of what constituted graduate self-employment and business start-up. The former referred to graduates who considered themselves to be self-employed, in the sense that they had more than one customer or client. The latter referred to entrepreneurs who complied with the legal forms of a business arrangement, trading solely, or in partnership, or as a company. This included people who had started a business, even if they were now technically employees of that business. But the definitions excluded people who described themselves as selfemployed because it suited their sole employers’ tax arrangements. Chapter 3 described the characteristics of the graduates in the sample surveyed. To help assess the likely career patterns of different types of graduates, the sample was divided into three distinct groups: ! those who had any experience of self-employment since graduating; ! those who had considered self-employment as a career option either on entering higher education, or at the time of graduation; and ! those who had no interest in self-employment. What emerged from the analysis of the characteristics of the graduates was that the level of self-employment among the purposive sample was high. A relatively high proportion of graduates had also considered self-employment as a career option, although they were not yet so at the time of the survey. Graduate Business Start-ups: Project Report 11
This means, as well, that when these graduates decide to enter self-employment, they would do so as people who have given the idea thoughtful consideration. More specifically the survey showed that: ! Women were more likely than men to have some experience of self-employment. They were also more willing to consider a career in self-employment. ! Self-employment was influenced by the degree course. The majority of those in self-employment graduated in the creative arts and design. ! There was some association, albeit slight, between degree class and self-employment. Graduates with better class degrees were more likely to have experience of selfemployment. ! A family background in self-employment was a significant factor influencing a labour market status in self-employment. Chapter 4 focused on the career patterns of the graduates, in particular their early career experiences. The initial destination of the graduates, when assessed one year after graduation, showed that: ! The majority of graduates were in employment as employees; but one out of every eight was self-employed. ! Self-employed levels varied according to the subject of study; self-employment was highest among media and film graduates; self-employment among art and design graduates was about the average for the sample. ! Self-employment was significantly high among science graduates, although the numbers involved here were small. The significant finding here was that although the subject studied has some influence on self-employment levels, there was greater willingness by graduates (of all disciplines) to include self-employment in their portfolio of labour market activities. Two years on: ! The level of self-employment had increased from one in eight graduates to less than one in seven. ! There was greater movement from further study into selfemployment, more graduates with first class degrees made this transition. ! There was less movement from unemployment into selfemployment. Three years on: ! The level of self-employment had increased for graduates who had been out in the labour market that long. 12 Graduate Business Start-ups: Project Report
Page 1 and 2: the Institute for Employment Studie
Page 4 and 5: the Institute for Employment Studie
Page 6: Contents 1. Graduate Business Start
Page 9 and 10: However, the conventional view is t
Page 11 and 12: levels increase over time. At a mor
Page 13 and 14: particular, the Steering Group disc
Page 15 and 16: As there was still a risk of shortf
Page 17: The Results of the Project Main fin
Page 21 and 22: Chapter 6 presented the data on the
Page 23 and 24: ! they were looking to the future w
Page 25 and 26: One way of dealing in future with s
Page 27 and 28: HEQED) of researchers working on a
Page 29 and 30: Annexe 1: A Good Practice Guide for
Page 31 and 32: graduation, while others return to
Page 33 and 34: Background to Good Practice farmer)
Page 35 and 36: 3. Graduates’ Views: in Retrospec
Page 37 and 38: 4. Developments Under Way: Some Ini
Page 39 and 40: Studying a business plan is part of
Page 41 and 42: Attitudes of Students ! Some studen
Page 43 and 44: Examples of Good Practice Possible
Page 45 and 46: in which local Business Links opera
Page 47 and 48: Organisations Offering Training in
Page 49 and 50: 7. Resources There is a wide range
Page 51 and 52: Many of the organisations offering
Page 53: access entrepreneurs from their own

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