ClickAJob News

Women graduates seeking to start their own businesses are receiving more attention and support than ever before, it has been claimed.

Graduates of art and design, of which "the majority" are women, are "prime candidates" for setting up their own businesses, The National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) has found.

Though universities have discovered little contrast between the nature of men and women's businesses, the world of women's enterprise is currently thriving, fuelled by increased support from the government and "creative ideas".

Lorna Collins, director of the NCGE's Flying Start Programme said the body is "finding that there are an awful lot of women who have creative ideas or are in creative industries […] so [it is] almost targeting that particular market more."

Figures published by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform show that independent businesses increased by 125,000 from 2005 to 2006 and small and medium-sized enterprises account for 58.9 per cent of employment in the UK.

ClickAJob recruitment consultant Clair Lovett puts a lot of this success down to self-motivation and initiative.

"A lot of women feel they need to challenge more and are used to driving themselves harder," she explains.

"With that kind of mindset, starting your own business is more exciting than scary - and stories of women who have made it in their own business are really starting to snowball."

"Frankly, I wish them a lot of luck," she concludes. "Their efforts create jobs for other women too."