Loan scheme for young entrepreneurs – will it work?

So this week the government announced plans to provide loans to young entrepreneurs aged 18-24 and my initial thoughts were; this is great, about time! But after thinking about it I am not 100% they will work.

The key points of the scheme are:

• £82 million will be lent to young entrepreneurs over the next 3 years with the average loan an estimated of £2,500 for those with a strong business plan

• Ministers believe more than 30,000 young people could benefit by 2014-15.

• The loans will be administered by organisations like Princes Trust & entrepreneur James Caan will chair the body which oversees the allocation of loans

• The loan can be for up to 5 years at RPI + 3% and the young entrepreneurs will also receive help and training to develop their businesses

When the scheme was launched David Cameron said "I want this to be the year where people can think: yes, I can do it, that we can get as many viable businesses as possible off the ground, that people can have a go"

Now it all seems great on the surface, helping the millions of young people out of work create their own jobs by starting their own businesses, but are young people today really equipped to deal with the mammoth task of setting up on their own?

Can we really expect young people to be inspired to start their own business when all they hear is the doom and gloom about their future and all they see around them is shops and businesses closing or shutting down?

How are they going to engage the young people like those involved in last year’s riots when youth services are being cut across the country? Are the government not giving with one hand only to take away with the other?

There are so many questions to be answered, and only time will tell if these loans will work. But, they could be an amazing opportunity for young people to build a different future for themselves and those around them, only if the infrastructure is in place to support them though and it is consistent, and with ever changing government policies and u-turns on decisions will this happen?