Jobs & Careers with Piers Linney - 36

How important do you think degrees are
these days? Are they worth the increased fees?
Education and training are key to success for most in
the long run. However, the cost and time consumed
by completing a degree course should be carefully
weighed against the chances of a degree actually
improving your career and earnings potential. Degrees
are increasingly only one route, as employers become more
interested in new recruits that have received on-the-job
training and real-word experience via apprenticeships.

Diversity in all its forms is on
the agenda of the main political
parties, and the number of
women on the boards of the UK's largest
public companies has almost doubled
over the past four years. However, they
still only account for less than 25%, and
the majority of FTSE-100 companies
have not yet achieved the target set out in
the Davies Report. The government can
only do so much, as most people are
employed by small- and medium-sized
companies where regulation is unlikely.
Employers need to work hard at
removing bias from their recruitment
processes, but the work really starts
at school by breaking down the
misconceptions and perpetuated
stereotypes about what careers the sexes
are best suited to. A good example is the
work being done to increase awareness
among girls of career opportunities
related to science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM).

'One of the
most important
ingredients required
for success is tenacity, or
grit. You should never
give up until you have
exhausted all of
your options'

Figures show that there
are more self-employed
people than ever in the UK.
Why do you think this is?
Self-employment is on the rise,
partly as businesses of all sizes
seek to minimise fixed costs
and maximise flexibility by using
variable hours, consultants and
freelancers. Starting a business is
different, as entrepreneurs join resources
and people to achieve a business goal.
Setting up your own business is an
option that almost anyone should
consider at some point, and most are
started by entrepreneurs with experience
in a particular market. Starting and
running a business is hard work and
involves financial and personal risks and
sacrifices. Anyone starting a business
needs to be realistic and have a plan.
However, your first business may not be
the one that is the making of you, so do
not be afraid of failure. Success provides
some control over your own destiny and
the possibility of wealth creation.

You spotted your first
business opportunity at 13,
when you took over your
paper round. Have you always had
that hunger to succeed in business?
I started my first business
as I could see the benefits of
working for myself, in that I
could earn more money working one
morning for myself than I could working
six mornings for somebody else. Also, it

was, in a minor way, about wealth
creation, as I wanted to buy a new bike!
I worked for myself or others part-time,
at nights and over the holidays, until I left
university. Even as a teenager, I wanted
to be in business but I had limited
experience, and it was not until I worked
in the City, and then in technology, that
I realised which business.

How do you think 2015
is looking for business
in the UK?
The creative economy, which
includes technology, represents
the fastest-growing sector,
employing over 2.5 million people.
This will continue in a post-industrial
economy, powered, in part, by the
disruptive power of the internet. It will
generate sustainable employment and
jobs, based on intellectual property
creation that are less likely to be
automated by more sophisticated
machines and software.

And what about for you,
personally? What are your
plans for the future?
I have left Dragon's Den and
am focused on developing
IT group Outsourcery into a
world-leading provider of cloud services,
and to launching workinsight.org
to provide workplace experience to
thousands of young people and
jobseekers. Apart from that, I'd like
to get out on my bike more often.

Words: Kia Hansen. Images: Ray Burmiston, Celebrity photographer.

Should the government
do more to promote equal
opportunities for women?
http://www.workinsight.org
Jobs & Careers with Piers Linney

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