By Daniel Hunter
A global job creation study by Ernst & Young has found that entrepreneurs are giving more than just a helping hand when it comes to worldwide employment figures; in fact, they are driving the expansion of workforces worldwide.
According to Ernst & Young, owner-managers’ confidence in the global economy and the continued growth of their own businesses mean that 70 per cent expect to have increased headcount domestically, and 47 per cent globally by the end of 2013.
Elizabeth Gooch, CEO of back office optimisation software specialist eg solutions and UK entrepreneur who took part in the study, pinpoints the apparent willingness of business founders and owners to look further than experience, and instead target graduates and other entry level employees.
“One key aspect of the job creation report that hits home for me is the ability of owner-managers to really tap into the niche skills and talent available to us in the form of young people and graduates," Gooch said.
Entry-level graduates are the second biggest pool for job creation for the respondents in the study, with 38 per cent of entrepreneurs saying that’s how vacancies will be filled. This is a 3 per cent increase on 2012, whereas experienced non-management roles, which came first, stayed static at 51 per cent. Even those with no degree saw a 3 per cent increase, at 29 per cent in 2012.
“It’s so easy to look over someone without job experience, but any business could well be restricting itself if it only looks towards this as a genuine indicator of skills and ability to add value to a business. As an entrepreneur of a successful company and of course as an employer, I want to see some practical abilities that can be nurtured and applied as best they can be, and fledgling professionals are a frustrated melting pot of untapped talent,” she added.
“Entrepreneurs are solid job creators. In the UK of course, there is a national skills shortage, particularly in the IT sector. eg has a strong ethos towards discovering and mentoring graduates and we have already joined forces with DorISCentral, a training body working in conjunction with the UK National Skills Academy. In the last 12 months we have taken on a number of graduates, across a varierty of roles. These are exceptional skills and fresh minds that many other small to medium sized businesses in this country and worldwide are otherwise missing out on,” Gooch concluded.
