News and Blog Articles

With 47% of the UK’s workforce being women, it would seem that there isn’t really any need to balance out the gender roles in our country. That being said, the gender gap still remains evident. For example, in the main occupational groups, the gap is 4.8% and in the skilled trades occupations it is up […]

Mentoring in the UK can sometimes be seen as a British predicament. It’s thought that the UK aren’t very good at utilising our resources when it comes to mentoring and there are few who know why. Maybe it’s because we Brits are inclined to feel like we would be imposing on someone when asking them […]

IOEE Academy Natwest is prepping up for this year’s Great British Entrepreneur Awards and they’re looking for specifically entrepreneurs from the North East. Categories range from the Entrepreneur for Good Award, Scale-Up Awards, Health & Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Entrepreneurs’ Team of the Year Award and so on. Founded in 2013, the NatWest […]

It is Mental Health Awareness Week and we’re looking at different perspectives on mental health. Over the last few years, mental health and the encouragement of mental health has become more prominent within our society. Apparently, entrepreneurs are more susceptible to poor mental health and here’s the reasons why… STRESS This might seem a little […]

The Mental Health Charity Mind have expressed their concerns over people who work from home becoming lonely and isolated and with 50% of the UK’s workforce predicted to be home-workers by 2020. These concerns arise as Work Wise Week sweeps across the UK and National Work from Home Day lands on the Friday 17th May. […]

Next Friday sees National Work from Home Day sweep across the UK as part of Work Wise Week, a non-profit campaign encouraging employers and employees to share with the world the benefits and methods to work from home successfully. It’s been predicted that by 2020, 50% of the UK’s workforce will be working from home […]

Sam Everard is the CEO of SAMEE, a Disability Confident Leader charity based in Dorset, which achieved its IOEE Academy status last year. SAMEE believes in a world where people of all abilities can proudly and independently provide an income for themselves and their families. Sam has always had an entrepreneurial streak and her first […]

Robert Turnbull has a longstanding relationship with SFEDI Awards and the IOEE and has a wealth of inspirational work in the field of enterprise and entrepreneurship under his belt. He is a SFEDI Awards Programme Leader for the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, joining its Growth Hub in 2014 as a Business Growth Advisor, as well […]

Greetings from the United States. The story so far… I am at the half way point of my travels across the USA exploring Entrepreneurship and how it can support formerly incarcerated men and women to have productive and brighter futures. I have travelled from New York to San Francisco and Omaha in Nebraska and already […]

Business of all types and sizes are increasingly expected (and becoming) more ‘social’ and ‘ethical’ for a variety of reasons: • Changing legislation (various Acts from the Environment Agency, Companies House, and in relation to Public Services) • Consumer preferences for ‘#BuyLocal’ and ‘#BuySocial’ (national campaigns around both of these have emerged over the last […]

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 […]