'Dragon' Peter Jones to head new skills academy » Education » 24dash.com

Dragons' Den star Peter Jones is to head a new skills academy which will teach would-be entrepreneurs the tricks of the trade.

The National Skills Academy for Enterprise will provide young people with the knowledge and skills to become leaders in their chosen field of work, or to set up on their own.

It will offer vocational qualifications in enterprise and entrepreneurship.

More than 11,000 young people, mainly in the 16-19 age group, are expected to benefit from the academy in the first three years.

It is one of four new skills academies due to be given the green light by ministers today. The others will be for power, IT and social care.

Each one will receive £30 million in Government funding, which will be matched by employers who have bid to lead the academies.

Self-made millionaire Mr Jones led the bid to run the Enterprise Academy, because of his long-held aim to nurture young entrepreneurial talent.

He said: "Through powerful public and private sector partnership, we can successfully unlock the talent of Britain's young people and realise the potential of the UK to lead the world in entrepreneurship.

"The new National Academy for Enterprise will focus on developing enterprise and innovation skills to equip the next generation of young people with the skills and confidence they will need to succeed in the modern business world, whether as enterprising employees or starting their own businesses."

Skills Secretary John Denham said: "Now, more than ever before, we need to develop innovative training that inspires and empowers a new generation to realise their ambitions.

"Skills academies put employers in the driving seat to shape training for their industries, building the world-beating workforce that will improve productivity and competitiveness across the country."

In total, around 150,000 young people will benefit from the new skills academies, which now move forward to the business plan stage.

There are already 12 National Skills Academies (NSAs), 10 of which are up and running while two are in the planning stage.