Justin Tomlinson MP on a recent visit to Swindon College to meet finance
and accounting students
Justin Tomlinson MP today welcomed the announcement that a new Business Link service is now live with over 200 online learning resources to support entrepreneurialism and business growth in the UK. In keeping with the spirit of championing UK business and talent, the Government worked with Brighton-based company Epic to produce the online resources.
According to a recent survey, a quarter of the working population believes there are good opportunities to start up new businesses where they live, but a fear of failure could prevent one in three workers from starting up on their own. If this fear could be overcome, the UK economy could benefit from an injection of millions of pounds.
These new insights have been revealed as the government launched Business Link’s new online services.
Justin Tomlinson MP said "I have visited many schools and colleges in Swindon to meet young business and finance students to talk to them about business. The findings of the survey match what I heard recently on a visit to both Swindon College and Cirencester College to talk about entrepreneurism. When I asked about starting their own businesses, the students raised the lack of advice available and a fear of failure as the main factors that put them off.
"This new online service is a fantastic resource that will make a real difference to entrapreneurs and aspirant business owners across the UK."
The 'My New Business’ service is an online learning directory which includes more than 100 videos and 100 e-learning tutorials and tools. The resources cover everything new business owners need to know, from writing business plans, to completing tax returns, to reaching customers and making sales.
Lars Hyland, who led the project for Epic commented, “Within UK companies, more and more learning is now delivered online. And when we’re at home, the first place most of us look for information is on a website or a search engine. So it’s a natural step for services like Business Link to expand its online offering. At Epic we’re looking forward to supporting the entrepreneurs of today as they work to become the successful UK companies of tomorrow.”
The Business Link services are available now. It is all free and users can access any content, in any order and to build their own learning plans. The services can be accessed at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk.