Degree of uncertainty: Are young entrepreneurs skipping higher education?
Young entrepreneurs are skipping the traditional path of higher education in favour of starting their own businesses, new research has shown.
Of the half a million digital micro businesses surveyed by Godaddy’s research initiative Venture Forward, 22 per cent of entrepreneurs under the age of 30 said they had started their business after their A-levels instead of pursuing a university degree.
This is double the national average of 11 per cent.
A majority of those — 76 per cent — who traded in the prospect of lecture halls for real-world experience also said they are “glad” to not have the “burden” of debt sitting on their shoulders.
This is a view that Andrew Gradon, head of Godaddy UK & Ireland, said could be due to the cost-of-living crisis and overall economic uncertainty, especially now that it’s “easier” than ever to start a business as new technologies have lowered initial start-up costs.
Gradon added: “Godaddy’s research indicates entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to higher education.
“With costs rising against a challenging economic backdrop, we are seeing a generational mindset shift in the way young people look at the value of university degrees.”
Tuition fees and interest rates are listed as some of the main concerns. But Professor Carl Gombrich, co-founder of the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), said it could also be due to what universities traditionally have to offer.
Less than half the young entrepreneurs who had degrees said they were not useful to their ventures.
“Traditional curriculums typically involve an immersion in a single academic subject, and a body of knowledge which is not always relevant to jobs or careers after graduation,” Gombrich said.
The LIS was founded in 2017 with an aim to take a different approach to higher education, offering a diverse range of interdisciplinary approaches and methods instead of the usual hyper-focused degree subject.
Gombrich added: “At LIS our students have a lot of exposure to start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses through our internship program which is available to them every year.
“This way they see how a start-up business operates in the wild and what it takes to get a business off the ground, getting an excellent foundation in entrepreneurial mindsets and practice.”