Professor Paul Hannon, acting CEO of NCGE explained, “In the current economic climate, some felt it was mission impossible to support the creation of so many start- up businesses. But the ‘Make it Happen’ team have produced outstanding results.”
Aspirations are high among graduates but few have the confidence to set up on their own and instead end up under-employed or unemployed. Make it Happen provides graduates with 12 months of specialist one-to-one mentoring and support, and ensures that they have access to a national and regional network, a dedicated mentor, online training and a wealth of resources.
A recent independent survey by EKOS found the net additional GVA (Gross Value Added) of the Make it Happen to be £14,030,977.
Joanne Ross, NCGE Director of the Make it Happen programme said, “Make it Happen provides flexible support through a combination of face-to face, online mentoring, training and resources, allowing graduates to mix and match the support they get to suit them and fit in with their other commitments. This has proved to be a winning formula and the results speak for themselves.”
Emma Taggart, who studied at Brunel University, was the 1350th graduate to start up a business thanks to ‘Make it Happen’. Her business Plumpots Cake Co does individually designed and baked to order cakes, she said, “I don’t think, without the programme, I would have had the confidence to start my business, and if I had I’m sure I would have made a few costly mistakes along the way.”
David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce commented: “We need new businesses more than ever to help grow our private sector and make this a year for growth for the economy. The ‘Make It Happen’ programme has been able to help over a thousand graduates take the plunge and become business owners since its creation. At a time when we must encourage entrepreneurship, the creation of 1350 new start-ups by graduates is fantastic news.”
