Graduate Enterprise & Employment

Graduate Enterprise & Employment
BSEEN (Birmingham Skills for Enterprise and Employability Network)

As part of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) programme in Birmingham, funding was allocated, aimed at the creation of new businesses, new jobs, and increasing the city’s economic output and productivity, as well as mitigating against the impacts of the recession on the business community.

Graduate Enterprise & Employment (GEE), BSEEN (Birmingham Skills for Enterprise and Employability Network) – Now Closed

The BSEEN project was designed to promote entrepreneurship among recent graduates at three Birmingham universities – Aston, Birmingham City and University of Birmingham.

The project was designed with three ‘levels’- Level 3 around awareness – raising, skills development and culture change; Level 2 around Enterprise Club, offering more in-depth entrepreneurship support, master-classes and networking opportunities; and Level 1, offering incubator space to 90 businesses, with access to business equipment, training, mentoring, advice and guidance from the project team.

The project was completed in March 2011.

An independent external evaluation was carried out by Renew Consulting in January 2011, it reported the following:-

“This is an exciting, worthwhile and valued programme that benefits participants, the universities and the regional economy.”

“Partners have worked very successfully together on this programme and this has been one of the most rewarding aspects for many of those involved.”

“Level 1 has been very successful. With 214 applications and 90 graduates (42%) starting on the programme.” As a result 43 businesses were created, exceeding the original target of 30.

“Level 3 has been very successful in terms of awareness-raising and capacity-building.” Through this element of the project, 482 Graduates have been supported exceeding the original target of 368.

Aston University is currently running the Graduate Business Start-up Programme called BSEEN, offering Incubator Space, Business Grants, Mentoring, Networking Opportunities, and Training Sessions. For more information, please visit the BSEEN website:
http://www.b-seen.org.uk/