SPEED-ing to success: Career plans and destinations of SPEED graduates (Winter 07/08)

• Summary
• Introduction
• SPEED programme
• Student Profiles
• Student career plans
• Student destinations
• Conclusions
• References

Summary

Naomi Woodier from the Centre for Entrepreneurial Management, University of Derby, reports on a research study carried out at the University which explores the aspirations and intentions of students on the Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in Education, ‘SPEED’, programme, and follows the transitional experiences of these students as they experience first hand practicing their entrepreneurial skills and preparing themselves for a potential career in self-employment.

back to top

Introduction

The transition from university study to life beyond is often difficult and many graduates are not well prepared. This lack of preparedness for the realities after graduation is a common experience for most students, who find the connection between their desire to practice their skills and the need to prepare for leaving university difficult [1]. During this crucial transition stage, students need ‘stepping stones’ and exposure to ‘business basics’ to get started. It has also been suggested that students lack self-confidence during this time [2].

Research suggests that the experiences of simply participating in a degree programme and of being a student are not in themselves sufficient preparation for being enterprising or becoming entrepreneurial [1]. Traditionally, it is only after graduation that interventions have been made to help a graduate business idea off the ground, and it has been argued that the point of intervention should be made earlier, to allow students the opportunity to experience exploring starting a business first hand before graduating, to enable them to practice and develop their skills and entrepreneurial self-efficacy [3].

back to top

SPEED programme

Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in Education, ‘SPEED’, is an initiative which started in 2006 and finishes in 2008, to help budding student entrepreneurs gain real business start-up experience, while studying at university. The programme allows would-be entrepreneurs to test and prove their concepts within a supported environment whilst at university, and to create a new business which becomes an integral part of their education [3]. The need for ongoing, enhanced and targeted interventions, to encourage and support would-be entrepreneurs on their journeys from student to graduate entrepreneur is what makes the SPEED programme unique.

Universities are seen as the key to engaging more explicitly with enterprise in the regional and national economies. This is also manifested in the mission of the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE), and this has major implications for enterprise education, extra-curricular preparation and student careers guidance. The NCGE mapping study documents that many universities have expanded their provision of both enterprise courses and other activities to encourage graduate business venturing, for example, through entrepreneur clubs and social events, summer schools, and business incubation [1]. SPEED is yet another move towards engaging more closely with enterprise, but with students instead of graduates.

The SPEED project brings together 21 partners, including 12 higher education institutions (HEIs), private-sector businesses, a variety of enterprise support agencies, and five regional development agencies. All have an interest in, and experience of, developing graduate entrepreneurship and generating business start-ups.

The total number of SPEED placements during the funded period of this project is 750. A comprehensive support package including advice, training, facilities, and resources have been put in place at each university to deliver these funding opportunities. A range of financial support is being made available averaging circa £6,000 per placement [4]. Each primary partner has a specific number of placements for the duration of this project and each have confirmed that they will be responsible for placements in the following numbers [4]:

Current research on graduate entrepreneurship appears to show surprisingly little recognition of student aspirations and intentions regarding the enaction of their propensity for enterprise and of the transition processes from student to entrepreneur [5]. At the University of Derby, a research study was carried out to explore SPEED students’ aspirations and intentions, and to follow the transitional experiences of these students as they gained first hand experience of practicing their entrepreneurial skills and preparing themselves for a potential career in self-employment.

back to top

Student Profiles

The study comprises 30 SPEED students from the 2006-07 cohort at the University of Derby. A breakdown of the students is demonstrated in Table 1 and the types of business ideas that the students were developing is shown in Table 2.

Out of the 30 students enrolled on SPEED, we had 24 males (80%) in comparison with six females (20%). The numbers of females were considered considerably low, with four out of the six students being involved in art/fashion/design businesses, one being involved in developing a software business and the other developing an online retailing business.

Out of 30 students, we had a considerably high number developing business ideas that were from a website/software/computer and art/fashion and design background, which was directly related to the course they were enrolled on. Previous research has identified that the large number of students pursuing more creative business ideas might be because students on creative degree courses accounted for nearly 18% of the total enrolment of 15,435 students at the University of Derby in 2006/07 [6]. This amounts to almost 3,000 students graduating from a creative degree course, at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Findings from Rae and Woodier also highlight that the highest number of students from the University of Derby who have started up their own businesses originate from creative, art and design subject areas, which is suggested as being linked both to the shortage of directly relevant employment opportunities and to their desire to practice the creative skills developed at university [1].

The age distribution of students on SPEED has been segmented into four categories. At the University of Derby, our students were predominantly from the 18 to 25 years old group, and the average age for the whole sample of the 30 SPEED students is 26 (see Table 3).

back to top

Student career plans

The study revealed that only 50% of the 30 SPEED students who graduated in 2007 have gone on to develop their own businesses. These students have chosen to develop their businesses full-time, with a number of them having other part-time paid positions, working at nights/weekends or a few days a week. Those students who have decided not to pursue their businesses part-time or full-time upon graduation have decided to pursue other career plans and destinations.

The students were surveyed at the beginning of their SPEED programme, half way through and at the end to capture their emerging career plans and intentions upon graduation. The first survey indicated that over 75% of the cohort had career plans upon graduation to develop their ideas and start a business, if they had not already done so. Half way through their programme, this decreased to just over 50% and at the end of SPEED, this remained at 50%. Those students who indicated that they had no immediate plans to start a business and continue with their business ideas after graduation cited that this was because of the uncertainty about the business and its potential success and sustainability as a full-time career option, after university. These students may indeed have lacked the entrepreneurial self-efficacy to pursue their businesses. Furthermore, students highlighted that they were considering ‘keeping their options open’ for other career opportunities.

Although in output terms, many students have not gone on to start a business, Derby’s measure of success is the overall quality of the learning experience undergone by the students. SPEED facilitates and provides the funding for students to experience starting a business while at university. At Derby, we emphasise that it is the experience and entrepreneurial journey rather than the business start-up that is important.

back to top

Student destinations

Three months after the SPEED programme, our study followed the students to find out if they were still in business. Out of the 50% that had continued with their ideas after graduation, just over 35% were in business full-time. The remaining 15% were pursuing their businesses on a part-time basis, due to other commitments, family, money and a need for more support. Those students who indicated that they required more support highlighted that this was because while they were at university, they had access to a mentor, other entrepreneurial students, and general advice and help. Students also indicated that leaving university has unfortunately distracted them away from their goal of starting a business in favour of securing other work, and for family and personal issues. Whilst the University offers support and incubation post-course, the students’ perception is that there is a lack of continuation of support and this has disengaged many students. This perception is mainly down to a lack of promotion.

back to top

Conclusions

Concluding the research, the University of Derby has taken considerable measures to maintain and build an entrepreneurial experience ethos amongst our students and as a result, we have started to address the pedagogy so that it meets the needs of the vast array of innovative and creative students that we have at Derby. The Centre for Entrepreneurial Management is now developing a suite of practice-based interactive enterprise support materials and sessions for enterprising students, SPEED students and SPEED graduates. Rob Moon and Simon Gee from the Centre state that ‘SPEED has enabled us to reach out to other schools within the University and increase the diversity of students to which we are delivering enterprising experiences and thus engage these students in starting their own businesses’. Without SPEED, Rob Moon and Simon Gee argue that ‘we would not have been able to provide students with a greater propensity for sustainability post-graduation and these students are now able to contribute further towards the regional economic development’.

References

1. Rae, D and Woodier, N. (2006) Graduate Career Choices in Entrepreneurship, National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship, www.ncge.org.uk

2. Ball, L and Price, E. (1999) Rethinking business start-up, a new model for success in art and design: Research and analysis of the needs of graduates, University of Brighton.

3. Birch, C and Clements, B. (2006) Creating graduate entrepreneurship through self-employed work placements – Project SPEED, ISBE, Cardiff November 2006.

4. Clements, B and Moore, S. (2006) Heif 3 Final Bid University of Wolverhampton.

5. Hannon, P. (2004) Making the journey from student to entrepreneur: a review of the existing research into graduate entrepreneurship, National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship, Birmingham.

6. Foyle, C. (2006) Planning and Statistics, University of Derby.

Copyright © 2002-2012 HECSU | Content last updated: Feb 2008