Why is innovation and creativity important to the education of our young people in the UK?
A very significant number of our students will work in small to medium enterprise businesses. They are crucial to the UK’s economy. Businesses with under 250 employees account for 56% of the UK non-government jobs and 52% of turnover.
catching ideas
Many smaller businesses in the UK make a vital contribution to innovation. They do so as originators of new ideas and technologies; as links in supply chains promoting technical advances; and as sources of knowledge and specialised goods and services for larger businesses.
This is an extract from an article taken from the accaglobal website:
There are 3.7 million businesses in the UK, or one for every ten people of working age. Of those businesses, 99.8 per cent have fewer than 250 employees. Only 31,000 businesses have 50 or more employees. One in eight of the workforce, or 2.3 million businesses, are self-employed.
The UK has a large business population by international standards although it has fewer small employers (as opposed to sole traders) than Italy or Germany. 24,000 businesses were medium sized (50 to 249 employees) and almost 7,000 were large (over 250 employees). The latter group accounted for 45% of non-government employment and 49% of turnover. Women are now responsible for a third of all business start-ups, an increase of over 22% over the last 4 years (Barclays December 2000)
SMEs are crucial to the UK’s economy. Businesses with under 250 employees account for 56% of the UK non-government jobs and 52% of turnover. This is a smaller share than any other European Union country, partly due to a greater proportion of employment in large corporations in the UK than elsewhere in the EU. Many smaller businesses in the UK make a vital contribution to innovation. They do so as originators of new ideas and technologies; as links in supply chains promoting technical advances; and as sources of knowledge and specialised goods and services for larger businesses.
Small businesses accounted for a higher proportion of employment in some industries including agriculture, business activities and construction. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research estimates that over 1.4 million people in the UK were attempting to start a business in the Spring of 1999.
Sources:
Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Statistics for the UK, 1999 URN 00/92
Think Small First, Small Business Service, October 2000, URN 00/1207
Bank of England Quarterly Report on Small Business Statistics, January 2001.
Edward De Bono’s Message
The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas.
More de Bono quotes