Why Enterprise Education Belongs at the Heart of Every School

I often hear the phrase “poverty of aspiration” as I travel around the country meeting education leaders. It describes something deeper than economic hardship. It describes a young person who cannot picture a future beyond what is immediately visible. No dream. No pathway. No belief that opportunity belongs to them. That is why enterprise education matters.

As the Maple Review prepares to examine the barriers to entrepreneurship caused by economic disadvantage, we have an opportunity to rethink how enterprise is positioned in our education system. For too long enterprise education has been treated as a “nice to have” rather than a “need to do”.  

If we are serious about improving social mobility, employability and inclusion, entrepreneurial thinking cannot sit at the margins of education. It must become part of how young people learn from the earliest years onwards.

At the Peter Jones Foundation, we see the impact of this every day. Through programmes such as our Tycoon Enterprise Competition and National Entrepreneur of the Year, young people are given the opportunity to develop ideas, test them in the real world and build confidence through practical experience. The transformation is often about far more than business creation. It is about belief, agency and self-confidence.

Enterprise education is about more than starting businesses

One of the biggest misconceptions about entrepreneurship is that it matters only to young people who will eventually found companies. In reality, enterprise education is as much about intrapreneurship as entrepreneurship. It develops the skills every employer increasingly values: creativity, resilience, adaptability, critical thinking, communication, financial literacy and problem-solving. These are the capabilities young people will need in a labour market being reshaped by AI, technological change and flexible career paths.

Few young people entering the workforce today are likely to spend 30 years with a single employer. Many will build “squiggly careers”, combining employed work with freelance projects, side hustles or social ventures. An entrepreneurial mindset helps them navigate that uncertainty with confidence, adaptability and self-belief.

This is why enterprise should not sit in isolation within business studies departments or as an enrichment option. It can make learning feel more relevant, practical and connected to the real world.

We could learn a lot from the Danish education system where entrepreneurship is woven into learning from an early age. Led by The Danish Foundation for Entrepreneurship, the approach focuses on project-based learning and teaching through entrepreneurship, not simply about it. Crucially, it is government-backed and linked to wider national priorities around innovation and sustainability including meeting the challenges inherent in the UN’s sustainable development goals and green transition. When learning is connected to the real world, engagement improves. Relevance drives motivation.

Breaking down the barriers of who entrepreneurship is “for”

Another challenge is representation. If you ask a young person to name an entrepreneur, they're likely to reach for a familiar list of ultra-successful figures whose lives can feel a world away from their own. The examples they give will be of brilliant and established entrepreneurs, many of whom give back -  through foundations, mentoring and advocacy for young people -  and that matters enormously. But, let’s be honest, these figures will often be wealthy, male and distant from most young people’s lived experience. We need more everyday role models to make entrepreneurship feel genuinely accessible and achievable

The reality is very different. Entrepreneurs exist in every community and every sector – from local business owners and freelancers to creators and social entrepreneurs building ventures alongside other responsibilities. Young people need to see role models who feel relatable if entrepreneurship is to feel accessible and achievable to them too.  

This matters because aspiration is shaped early. Research shows that career stereotypes form in childhood. If young people never see entrepreneurship represented by people who look like them, sound like them, or share their background, they may never view it as a realistic pathway.

Enterprise education can help dismantle those barriers, especially when it is embedded across the curriculum and woven progressively throughout a learner’s journey.

Social enterprise resonates with young people

Young people care deeply about sustainability, ethics and social impact. Research from the European Investment Bank found that 73% of under-30s in the UK consider a prospective employer's climate impact to be an important factor when job hunting. When students realise they can create something that both generates income and improves their community, engagement often changes dramatically.

At the Peter Jones Foundation, many student-led ventures choose to donate profits to charities or address issues they care about locally. That process encourages young people to think critically about impact, responsibility and leadership.

For some learners, particularly those who may feel disconnected from traditional academic pathways, enterprise projects can become a powerful confidence-builder. Starting with their passions, interests or hobbies often creates a more accessible entry point. A love of fashion, football, gaming or music can evolve into a project, a side hustle or a social initiative. Along the way, young people develop transferable skills as well as financial literacy and begin to make meaningful connections to the working world ahead of them.  

Educators cannot do this alone

Of course, educators are already under enormous pressure. The answer is not to add another standalone demand to an overcrowded curriculum. The strength of enterprise education is that it can be woven through the curriculum rather than bolted on as something separate. It is about making learning more relevant, practical and connected to life beyond the classroom.

There is also a huge willingness from employers and entrepreneurs to support schools. Across the country, business owners are eager to mentor, speak to students and contribute to teacher CPD. The challenge is creating the structures and partnerships that make these connections easier and more scalable.

That is where organisations like The Careers & Enterprise Company and the Peter Jones Foundation can play a vital role, helping educators access resources, networks and practical enterprise opportunities that fit within the realities of school life.

The Maple Review must raise ambition

As the Maple Review approaches, there is an opportunity to shift the national conversation. We should stop treating enterprise education as an optional add-on and start recognising it as a vital part of preparing young people for modern life and work. We need an education system that develops entrepreneurial thinking alongside academic achievement, from primary school onwards.

Because this is not just about business creation; it is about tackling the poverty of aspiration. Enterprise education does not just help young people imagine a different future; it helps them believe they can build one.