I am delighted to announce that the National Enterprise Academy (NEA) will be opening its doors to pupils next year, fulfilling my long-time ambition of shifting the boardroom to the classroom.

If you are an enterprising young person aged 16-18, you could be amongst the first to study full time at the NEA. Don't miss the chance to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Click the banner below to apply for a place on the Pathfinder programme.



My ambition for training the next generation of entrepreneurs has been welcomed by a range of major businesses together with the Prime Minister, who'll be including it as one of his priorities in the Government's new Enterprise Strategy.

The NEA will have its headquarters in the south-east and will quickly expand to include a centre in Manchester, later expanding to other centres around the UK.

It will accept its first 16 to 19-year old students from September 2009 after the completely new course in entrepreneurship has been rigorously tested, including being put through its paces in a unique 'live' test with a sample group of students early next year.

The academy's mission is to be a catalyst for cultural change in the UK, encouraging and stimulating more entrepreneurial activity - as well as providing young people with the skills and confidence to aim higher and be more successful in relation to enterprise in the workplace or starting their own businesses.

Why am I doing it? Well, I believe there's a stark difference in the entrepreneurial mindset between the UK and the US.

Here, we tend to take a 'can I?' approach whereas in the US the 'I can' belief is instilled from an early age.

If the UK economy is to continue to grow, we need to create the right learning environment for all our children, where their talents can be developed so they can go out into the workplace or business and prosper.

I am delighted to have achieved such strong support for my academy and I applaud and appreciate the Prime Minister Gordon Brown's personal interest and action in helping me get it off the ground. I'm grateful that a number of big businesses and other organisations have also given their backing to the NEA.

Andy Bond, Chief Executive of Asda, told us:

"I think a National Enterprise Academy that is giving teenagers a talent toolkit for entrepreneurialism is a fantastic idea. Softer skills that are more aligned to the workplace such as communication and problem-solving are vital for a front-line customer facing business like ours, and I personally can't wait to meet and interview its first crop of qualified students."

And Bill Murphy, Managing Director, BT Business said:

"We applaud Peter Jones' National Enterprise Academy concept with its focus on unlocking the entrepreneurial talents of the nation's young people, and we look forward to working with the future generation of innovative employees and businesses it aims to encourage."