Almost half of young students polled by NOP would like to run their own businesses and this is a trend that is increasing.

The survey of 14-19 year olds found that the number of students who are attracted to the idea of running their own enterprise has risen from 35% in 2000 to 43% now.

Whilst students recognise some of the drawbacks involved such as the risks, the related stress and the difficulty in raising necessary start-up funding, they are not discouraged. Greater freedom in decision making, flexibility and an entrepreneurial environment in which to work seem to outweigh the disadvantages.

The findings come as Chancellor Gordon Brown meets business leaders at a summit in London, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, to discuss entrepreneurship. Brown wants to turn Britain into a nation of entrepreneurs.

The research supported by the business education charity businessdynamics also found that:

• Almost twice as many male students to female (24% to 13%) expressed strongly an ambition to eventually run their own business.
• More than half (50%) of students in fee-paying schools also felt that they would eventually like to run their own business compared with only 42% in the state sector.
• 50% of students in the North and Yorkshire said that eventually they would like to run their own business. This was the highest percentage of all the regions.
• The East of England had the lowest percentage of students interested in setting up their own business with only 19% of students expressing an interest.

Businessdynamics' chief executive, David Millar, said: "Every week in Britain young people start around 550 businesses.”

"However this is the age group that are most likely to fail. We work to encourage young people to see self-employment as an exciting and realistic option and give them the skills and knowledge to help them succeed."

To encourage these young people to realise this ambition, businessdynamics developed Blue Skies, an entrepreneurial road show that allows students to:

• Come face to face with entrepreneurs in a lively and fun environment.
• Understand how entrepreneurs set up their businesses.
• See the benefits of running their own business.
• Increase their knowledge of business and enterprise.

For more information visit www.blue-skies.uk.com.