Julian Smith, Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon, has marked Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012 by highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit in the constituency.
Start ups and small businesses are the backbone of the economy making up 99.9 per cent of the private sector and employing nearly 60 per cent of the private sector workforce.
In Yorkshire over the past year almost 12,000 new businesses started up, an increase of 4 per cent on the previous year and in Skipton and Ripon small business comprise the majority of jobs.
Encouraging entrepreneurship has been one of the MP’s key aims since being elected. He helped to form the Skipton and Ripon Enterprise Group which offers free mentoring from experiences businessmen and women to new and growing companies across the constituency.
Later this month the efforts of the group will be highlighted with Julian visiting Northern Paper Board, one of the companies being supported by the Group, and hosting a roundtable with some of the mentors and entrepreneurs.
Julian Smith said:
Small businesses and the entrepreneurs that run them are vital to our economic recovery. Skipton and Ripon is packed with talent, innovation and entrepreneurial flair. Despite the difficult economic climate, the number of businesses in the UK continues to grow.
Free mentoring schemes like the Skipton and Ripon Enterprise Group are key. We want entrepreneurs to share their experiences and to encourage others to have the courage to do what they have done. I look forward to hearing an update on their excellent work later this month.
Every success story starts with someone taking the brave step of striking out on their own. The more we can encourage people here to take that step, the better. They will reap the rewards – and our economy and our country will be all the better for their courage.
More details on the Skipton and Ripon Enterprise Group can be found at www.skiptonandriponenterprisegroup.co.uk
