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Twenty Something Entrepreneurs

While many people dream of being the boss in their forties or fifties, City & Guilds has awarded qualifications to a whole host of twentysomethings who went on to make the dream a reality much earlier on. Here the awarding body profiles two success stories who reckon that vocational courses are the ideal preparation for setting up your own start-up.

WAYNE GEORGE

Despite being only twenty-four years old, Wayne George is running his own successful business designing and making furniture for private clients. His Somerset-based firm attracts customers from as far afield as Canada.

The inspiration for this young entrepreneur was his City & Guilds qualification. ‘I have always wanted to be self-employed and the course I took, City & Guilds progression award in furniture: handcrafted cabinet making, enabled me to extend an existing skill,’ said Wayne.

‘The course was recommended by Yeovil College and it has already helped me on my way as I have changed my career, begun to earn money from a hobby and started my own business.’

The former chef’s achievements have been recognised by City & Guilds as he was one of seven UK Award winners for 2003.

‘I was really amazed and excited to win the Small Business Learner of the Year Award. It’s so great to get some recognition as it’s always difficult starting a new business but being fairly young and living in a rural location makes it even harder,’ said Wayne.

The judges described Wayne’s work on his qualification as ‘outstanding and innovative’, as did his course manager who nominated him.

Since leaving Yeovil College, he has already developed a corporate website and employs a trainee to work with him.

‘I would recommend my course to anyone who wants to get on in life and my trainee is also following in my footsteps by doing the same qualification!’

A regular exhibitor at industry events such as the Axminster Power Tool Show and Somerset Arts Week, Wayne is too busy for any studying at the moment but would like to further enhance his skills in the future.

‘When I have time I would like to do the next level of the cabinet making course and also a computer aided design course so that I can produce graphic drawings for clients really quickly,’ he said.’

VICKY MANNING

With her own flat in London and a convertible on the driveway, Vicky Manning is not your average twenty-six year old. She has run her own hairdressing business for five years but never imagined when she left school that this is where she would be in ten years time.

‘I originally wanted to be a beautician but I did some work experience in a salon when I was fifteen and didn’t like it at all,’ said Vicky. ‘I started working in a hairdresser for a few Saturdays to give that a try and ended up getting a full-time job.’

Vicky began a training programme through work which involved working on City & Guilds hairdressing NVQs at level 1 and 2 one day a fortnight at college.

‘Training whilst working gives you the best of both worlds,’ she said. ‘If you just go to college or just work in a salon you don’t see the whole picture or learn enough about the industry.’

Having topped up her training to include a City & Guilds at level 3, Vicky tried her hand at teaching. ‘I really enjoyed that for a change,’ she said. But after a year she was persuaded back into hairdressing.

‘I knew I wouldn’t like the pressure of being in a salon anymore so I decided to set up my own business to see if my heart was still in hairdressing.’

And five years later it definitely still is.

‘I’ve never looked back,’ said Vicky. ‘I love meeting people, I enjoy having more one-on-one contact with clients and most of them have become my friends. I have loads more flexibility and I can shape my working life around going to the gym and taking a cookery course for fun.’

So where does she see herself in the future? ‘I would love to move to Spain at some point,’ said Vicky. ‘They are desperate for good hairdressers and with so many English people buying homes there I would be able to work really easily.’

And for those wanting to follow in Vicky’s footsteps? ‘It depends what business you want to start but I think in general you need to be reliable, flexible, friendly, have plenty of support behind you and most importantly you need to make sure you’re well-qualified.’