PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

As this column discussed last week, access to skills is one of the key concerns of many employers in the UK when it comes to improving the future effectiveness of their businesses. For example, the CBI has noted that low levels of skills is one of the biggest perceived threats to the competitiveness of the UK economy whilst the Institute of Directors has stated that in a post Brexit World, access to skills will be vital to helping achieve the future prosperity of the nation. Nowhere is the development of work-related skills more important than within our education system and yet employers often complain that schools are not preparing their pupils for the world of work and have little contact with the businesses in their area. To fill this gap, the serial entrepreneur and investor Sherry Couto decided to establish a new educational charity that would be dedicated to improving the life chances and employability of young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. ...

This week, I was delighted to be back in the USA with a brilliant group of Welsh start-ups to work with one of the world’s leading universities, namely the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The aim of the visit was to understand some of the key aspects of the innovation ecosystem developed around MIT and, more importantly, to understand whether there were any lessons from their experiences for the Welsh economy. The city of Boston and its surrounding areas is now seen as one of the primary innovation regions in the World, not least because of the technology that emerges from over fifty academic institutions including MIT and the world class Harvard University. These universities also teach those talented young people who are not only in demand from large corporates such as Google, IBM, Facebook, Amazon and Uber but who are increasingly looking to set up their own businesses. Indeed, the United States Chamber of Commerce named Boston as the best American city for foste...

Earlier this week, I was honoured to be able to speak briefly at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Hub meeting in Cardiff. Established in 2008 to provide a focal point for research, policy and practice in women’s enterprise and entrepreneurship, it has developed a range of initiatives in partnership with a range of organisations including business support bodies, higher education institutions, chambers of commerce and women business owners across Europe and beyond. It was a humbling experience listening to some of the particular challenges that women face in not only starting a business but managing it afterwards. And it may be some of those challenges that explain the statistics which show that women in the UK are half as likely as men to be starting a business which means that the economy is losing out on the talents and potential of half of its adult population. Of course, there are going to be issues that are common to all types of businesses regardless of gender but various ...

Towards the end of last year, I had the idea of bringing all the higher and further education institutions in Wales together to share their experiences of working with industry, developing entrepreneurial students and supporting graduate businesses. And earlier this week, the BeTheSpark movement set up to develop greater entrepreneurship in Wales brought together over 120 participants from universities and colleges who gave over fifty presentations on the impact they are having within the Welsh economy. This should not really be surprising, as both academics and policymakers are increasingly appreciating that knowledge generated from universities is a key contributor to national and regional competitiveness. As a result, universities have become increasingly engaged in using their knowledge to support economic and entrepreneurial development rather than focusing their mission exclusively on teaching and research. These entrepreneurial activities have led policymakers to incr...