News and Blog Articles

Article written by Dr Jun Li from the University of Essex. Dr Jun Li is the Senior Lecturer in Management Science and Entrepreneurship. Highly educated graduate entrepreneurs can be ‘high quality entrepreneurs’ with substantial growth potential. Education contributes to the development of human capital, and provides students a set of opportunities and resources unavailable to […]

David Morgan our IOEE Member of the Year gives us an insight into his upcoming Winston Churchill Memorial Trust travels. Wow! How time has flown. Where has the year gone so far? Back in February this year I was given the amazing news that I was to become a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. […]

Alex Kostyakov is a recent graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University, throughout his time at MMU Alex was enrolled within the ICE Programme. The programme is accredited by the IOEE and gives students the knowledge to become a confident entrepreneur and potential business owner. Alex whilst at University started his own business called Flyr Artists and […]

Prime Cymru an IOEE Academy held their annual awards event earlier this month in Wales, to which our very own Ruth Lowbridge MBE and trustee of Prime attended and provided the closing speech. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Founder of PRIME Cymru, met with people aged over 50 who have set up their […]

Sunil Sharma joined the IOEE’s Mentoring Programme in 2014 and has recently celebrated completing his 10th mentoring case – though reaching this milestone doesn’t mean slowing down for Sunil, and he has taken on another three mentees since the beginning of 2018. Sunil works for Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) and is united with his mentees […]

Clarion Housing Group is the country’s largest housing association, with over 125,000 properties nationwide. Through its partnership with the IOEE’s Apprenticemakers programme, Clarion helps people to access employment and training opportunities through its charitable foundation, Clarion Futures. Alex Dean is Clarion’s National Apprenticeship Manager, and this month we caught up with him to talk about […]

Marine apprenticeships have historically played a major role in developing the skills and expertise of the marine workforce. According to British Marine’s Labour Market Survey (September 2016), the UK marine industry employs 470 apprentices across 100 businesses. Almost three quarters of these apprenticeships are in manufacturing and engineering (43% boat manufacturing, 21% repairs and servicing, […]

We’ve had the opportunity this month to speak to Jo Bradford, Group Apprenticeship Manager at Marston’s and find out exactly how they have been able to utilise the current apprenticeship levy. When asked on Marston’s stance on Apprenticeships & their use of the Levy Jo said “Apprentices are a key part of our People Strategy, […]

In a speech to the CBI on the 26th June  Small Business Minister Andrew Griffiths unveiled a new £8m fund to boost the productivity and performance of small businesses in England. Boosting national productivity and increasing workers’ earning power forms a key part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy and the Business Basics Fund, run […]

Pete Ezard is the Programmes Manager for the Aston Villa Foundation; a charitable trust and new IOEE Academy. The Birmingham-based foundation supports young people through the delivery of learning and employability opportunities and SFEDI-accredited qualifications, using the status of Aston Villa Football Club to attract and inspire pupils. This month we chatted to Pete about […]

On Tuesday 15th May an Employability Symposium was hosted at Advance HE in York and provided an opportunity to profile an enterprise and entrepreneurship education framework developed last year by a range partners including IOEE and SFEDI.  The symposium offered a space within which to share experiences and discuss contemporary practice in enterprise education and […]

Novus is joining forces with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to celebrate National Employability Event on June 29 at a ground-breaking North West Conference. As part of the unique event, we are bringing together employers, prisons and those that support us to highlight how working with ex-offenders can help organisations grow their business […]

IOEE Enterprise Academy Rocketeer have taken their programme to Europe and this month we find out how entrepreneurial students in Sicily have benefited from IOEE accreditation and membership.  Rocketeer have recently completed a ‘European Further Education (FE) Social Enterprise’ project with a Sicilian FE College, Leonardo Da Vinci College in Piazza Armerina in Sicily – http://www.iisdavinciarmerina.gov.it/. as well as […]

With the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) effective date pinned at 25/05/18, the UK is gearing up for tougher fines and stricter regulations, across all industries. GDPR regulation for small businesses is a hot topic, but are you prepared for the changes? It’s a wide-ranging regulation designed to protect the privacy of individuals in […]

Karen Brown has a busy career as both the Office Manager and PA to the Director at Growth Lancashire Limited; a company owned by several Lancashire local authorities to aid business and economic development across the county. Through Boost Business Lancashire’s Growth Hub, Karen has recently completed her Level 7 Diploma in Professional Business and […]

In recent years one of the central ‘big ideas’ emerging from policy development has been the employer ownership of the skills agenda – i.e. moving from the traditional supply led model to one where power is shifted to employers by devolvement of funding in order for vocational education and training to become demand led.  In […]

Gordon Merrylees is the Managing Director, Entrepreneurship for NatWest. Within his role, Gordon leads the bank’s Entrepreneurship Strategy and Entrepreneurial Development Academy; designed to harness the entrepreneurial potential of businesses and colleagues through its unique academy which is grounded using the principles of having a growth mindset or growth culture. This customer-led Academy has recently been […]

Gary Rockcliffe has always had the desire and hunger that an entrepreneur needs to power them to success. He’s had a rich and varied work life, setting up various business ideas and projects over the years, but one bad decision resulted in Gary having to serve a 16.5 month-long prison sentence, being released in 2017. […]

Written by Leigh Sear, Chief Executive, SFEDI Solutions. The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, reflected that change is only the constant. The level of change and dynamism that we are currently experiencing in the economy and society can lead to differences between perception and reality. A good example here is immigration to the UK.  With the impact of […]

‘Enterprisingly Me’ is a monthly feature where you can follow my entrepreneurial adventures. Names have been changed to protect the innocent but everything you read really happened. I hope my story inspires you to take your first steps, or if you already have, then it lets you know you’re not on your own. Starting and […]

The IOEE last met Richard and Angela Barker, founders of Grasmere Chocolate Cottage, back in 2015, when they’d only just reached the end of their first year of trading, supported through the IOEE’s mentoring programme. Fast forward to today and the business has skyrocketed; still staying true to its idyllic rural charm whilst also becoming suppliers […]

Nic Corrigan, pictured above, is a talented knitwear designer who founded her own company in 2014. After feeling conflicted about elements of her previous career in the fashion industry, Nic wanted to pursue something more fulfilling and ethically and environmentally conscious, creating Whitehall Studio in West Yorkshire. The IOEE paired Nic up with mentor Lisa […]

Enterprise Educators UK and conference host and sponsor, Leeds Beckett University, are delighted to invite you to join them and contribute to the leading global three day forum for enterprise and entrepreneurship educators and practitioners – the International Entrepreneurship Educators Conference (IEEC) #IEEC2018. The ‘I’ in IEEC will be elevated this year – there are already three […]