Beat the dole queue... just mind your own business

Scheme helps thousands of Scots start new firms

THOUSANDS of jobless people have started their own businesses in the past year under a scheme to help people on benefits become entrepreneurs.

Official figures show that 4,660 Scots have set up on their own since the Coalition launched the programme.

The New Enterprise Allowance provides support as well as money to the unemployed, lone parents and people on sickness benefits to help them become entrepreneurs.

They get expert advice from a mentor who will help them to develop their idea and write a business plan.

Participants are eligible for financial support payable through a weekly allowance over 26 weeks up to a total of £1,274 if their business plan is approved. Mentors continue to give the budding entrepreneurs support during the early months of trading.

The results of the scheme come amid record numbers of Scots overall who set up their own business last year, with entrepreneurs helping to fuel a sustained economic recovery.

A total of 27,602 businesses were launched, many with redundancy cheques paid during the recession.

This was the highest number in a single year, with Scotland now having a total of more than 340,000 businesses.

The increase in entrepreneurs is being fuelled by many Scots sinking redundancy cheques into setting up on their own, and also a huge rise in ‘ sil ver self- employment’ of the over-50s.

UK Minister for Employment Esther McVey said: ‘Small businesses are the backbone of the economy and are delivering a significant share of new vacancies – and it’s thanks to their hard work, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that we are recovering from one of the biggest recessions in living memory.

‘As part of the Government’s longterm economic plan, we are success-

‘Moving people

off benefits’

fully moving people off benefits and helping them to achieve their dreams of becoming their own boss.

‘Thousands of new and innovative businesses are now up and running in Scotland thanks to the scheme, some of which are now employing people and are helping to make the goods and provide the services which are powering t he UK’s e c onomic recovery.’

Entrepreneurial Spark is a Glasgow company that helps fledgling firms. Its chief executive officer Jim Duffy said: ‘We’re seeing increasing interest i n our f ree business accelerator scheme.

‘Many people have a great idea but struggle with knowing how to go about executing it.’

Meanwhile, an extra 613,000 people have joined the ranks of the employed in Britain, compared to 2008, the year the recession began.

While there has been a drop of 148,000 in the number of full-time workers, there has been a rise of 251,000 in part-timers.

Some economists have suggested that self-employed workers often earn lower salaries and end up claiming tax credits. Critics, including the Trades Union Congress, have said that many new self- employed jobs are of low quality, suggesting that people working for themselves are doing so out of necessity.

Last week, Labour l eader Ed Miliband questioned the value of self-employed posts, saying that such workers have ‘ seen their earnings drop by nearly 15 per cent in the last five years’.