‘End this job scheme now’
Jan 11 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal
A CALL has been made for the immediate scrapping of a pioneering workplace project aimed at launching job- creating businesses in Northumberland.
Committee members say the Friday Entrepreneurs Initiative – which involves county council employees developing personal enterprise ventures at their office desks – has not been a success and should be “terminated forthwith”.
They say take-up of the scheme has been minimal, with the handful of workers who have expressed interest ending up leaving the council to pursue their business ideas.
The strategic services scrutiny committee’s recommendation that the pilot scheme should be axed will be discussed by the council’s all-Labour executive next week.
The project, which was welcomed by business leaders in the region before its launch in March 2006, involves council staff being allowed to take one unpaid day a week off from their normal duties to work on personal enterprise ideas.
It was described as probably unique in the public sector and designed to stimulate entrepreneurship and business start-ups in a region which has the fewest firms per head in England.
However, a progress report to county councillors two months ago said it had met with a disappointing response. Several employees considered joining the scheme but had instead left the county council to become self-employed full-time.
Scrutiny committee members say take-up of the scheme has been extremely limited and it has left the council in a position of having to employ and train people to fill the vacancies caused by staff leaving the authority to pursue their venture ideas.
Yesterday committee chair, Liberal Democrat Lesley Rickerby, said: “Members felt the scheme had not been the success that had perhaps been originally suggested.
“They felt it had simply resulted in staff leaving the council, even though we were told the employees concerned would have left anyway. Some members felt this was exactly the outcome they had predicted and that the scheme encourages employees with ideas to leave the authority. The general feeling was that it should simply be pulled.”
Council leader Peter Hillman said: “The executive feels this is a worthwhile project which is worth persevering with, but we have been asked by scrutiny to revisit it and we will do so next week.”
The year-long pilot project was intended to involve about 20 budding entrepreneurs. They would be allowed to operate from their council desks, use council equipment such as computers and have access to business and financial advice from the council regeneration team.
