PRIME Initiative

Upward Curve PR has chosen PRIME as its Charity of the Year 2009 to 2010. “We are so pleased to be able to offer PRIME PR support”, says Helen Ashley of Upward Curve. “We chose them because we felt that with our aging population and the current recession, the charity’s focus is particularly relevant.”

“The over-50s face huge problems of unemployment and age discrimination in the job market. It’s great that we’ll be able to work with PRIME to help them raise awareness of these issues and let over 50s know how PRIME can help them set up on their own.”

Laurie South, PRIME’s chief executive, said “Upward Curve has exactly the right sort of experience that PRIME needs. We are now better able to help more people over 50 start in business than at any time in our history. But we need to get the message of what we can do out there and in front of people. We also need to keep support coming in, so we can scale up our services and make them available more consistently across the whole UK.”

Upward Curve PR is an award-winning PR and communications agency working mainly with clients in the public and not-for-profit sector. Based in Kingston near London it has recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, and brings this experience plus a strong ethical stance to the advice it offers.

Parents for Children (now part of TACT), an adoption charity specialising in finding homes for ‘harder-to-place’ children, was the Agency’s Charity of the Year in 2008. Edwina Brocklesby, Director of Parents for Children, said “I could not speak more highly of Upward Curve. They have transformed the potential of this agency and raised our profile beyond our wildest dreams.”

PRIME was one of 100 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups applying for the honour this year.

A Channel 4 Dispatches documentary has revealed that substantial barriers still face older people in Britain’s job market - despite the passage of laws supposedly outlawing such ageism. Called “Too old to work“, the programme transmits on Monday the 9th of February.

Not surprisingly, the investigation finds that being older - even over 45, is a big risk in today’s workplace. Older workers are more likely to lose their jobs, and are then much less likely to secure another one.

To test whether recruitment agencies do discriminate against older candidates, Dispatches carried out an experiment. It pitted two accountants, a 57-year-old father and his 25-year-old daughter, against each other in a contest to see who can achieve the most offers of work via agencies.

Martin Lloyd-Penny has 30 years of accounting experience whilst his daughter Tanne is still a trainee. They registered with the same recruitment agencies and kept video diaries of their progress. They had very different levels of success - no prizes for guessing who got the most job offers

The programme also looks into the impact of forced retirement, interviewing several people who have been forced out of their jobs, and reporting on the broader picture with a specially-commissioned You Gov survey.

Dispaches also investigates whether there is any scientific basis for commonly held beliefs about the effects of ageing. Professor Lorraine Tyler is shown measuring the brain activity of people aged 18 to 90 using neural imaging techniques. Her research contradicts the idea that older brains cannot function as well as younger ones.

The programme demonstrates through physical fitness tests that age is not necessarily an indicator of fitness or productivity.

Back in November 2006 we published a case study on the web about Norma, who had set up a business making and teaching people about mosaics.

Now Reuters have interviewed her. Here’s the clip. It also features Laurie South of PRIME.

Prince Charles describes the work of his charity PRIME and welcomes new sponsorship deal

Click on the right arrow button above to start video

I am delighted to speak to you today as the President of PRIME - the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise.

I founded PRIME over eight years ago after receiving large numbers of letters from people aged 50 and over telling me they were workless - had been made redundant or despite their best efforts were simply unable to find employment. Many of the letters referred to the Prince’s Trust, which offers practical solutions to change young lives. Some of them had even been active supporters of the organisation. But in one form or another, they all highlighted a lack of support available to help them when they needed it most.

This seemed to me to be a tragic waste of experience, of knowledge and skill. Here were people with at least a third of their lives in front of them, left feeling excluded from mainstream employment. People who had often already contributed so much to society, and learnt so much along the way. People who simply wanted to continue giving, and to develop and achieve as economically active adults.

In response to this I felt there was something I might be able to do to help, if I brought the right people together to examine the issue.

I truly believe everyone should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential and contribute to our communities. So that is why I founded PRIME.

PRIME therefore helps people aged over 50 to get back into the labour market, re-gaining the dignity of financial independence and the satisfaction of self-fulfillment by starting their own businesses. I have been delighted to meet some of the people PRIME has helped and know at first hand there are marvellous businesses out there. PRIME currently works across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and I hope it will shortly be active in Scotland.

Now I knew when I founded PRIME that there were a large number of over 50s who were workless, but was shocked when I discovered the true scale of the issue and challenge. Standing at 2.8 million - a simply huge figure, this number is growing all the time as our society ages. This means almost one person in three between fifty and the state pension age is workless. Yet almost a million people in this age group want to work.

If just five per cent of this group started a business, we would have 50,000 new enterprises, employing goodness knows how many more people. What an enormous contribution that would be to our communities and to the United Kingdom economy,.

I cannot tell you how delighted and grateful I was therefore to hear that Bank of America has made such an admirable commitment in becoming PRIME’s key corporate partner.

The unique approach adopted by the Bank of America, that includes supporting PRIME as a whole - from back office functions right through to client facing services, means the organisation  has a secure and firm foundation for future growth. This will enable PRIME to help even greater numbers of older people establish their own businesses, and also highlight and overcome some of the issues and stereotypes working against those over 50. It will also help PRIME expand its reach across the United Kingdom, which is something I am very much looking forward to.

Now more than ever, our economy and society needs the skills and knowledge built up over so many years that older people have to offer.

I therefore hope everyone watching this will think about their friends, their relatives, neighbours and colleagues over 50 who may be

• Workless or worried about their jobs
• Living on an inadequate wage
• Or nurturing an as yet unfulfilled dream, not knowing where to go for help.

Because you too can help us to help them. You can contribute to the leadership already shown by PRIME as a volunteer, as an advocate, as a mentor or as a donor.

Please remember, those over 50 have enormous potential and a huge amount to give. I hope you will work with PRIME, Bank of America and myself to turn this potential and promise into enterprise.

(( ENDS ))

HRH The Prince of Wales recorded at St. James’s Palace, London on the 19th November 2008 describing the work of his charity PRIME.

See also:

Bank of America backs PRIME’s mission

Joint PRIME / Bank of America News Release: 27 November 2007
Embargoed until: 00.01am 1 December 2008

Bank of America and PRIME - Working Together to Support the Over 50s to Find Opportunity in Enterprise

LONDON - Research published today, commissioned by Bank of America on behalf of The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME), provides new insights into the realities faced by older entrepreneurs in the UK.

The research was commissioned to mark the launch of a groundbreaking £2 million three-year partnership between the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and PRIME. It aims to unlock entrepreneurialism in the over 50s in the UK by helping this group get back into employment through setting up their own businesses. The partnership will focus on helping those over 50 realise their potential, challenge direct discrimination and enable more people to capitalise on their talents.

Bank of America’s partnership with PRIME forms part of the company’s new approach to community investment in the UK, myPotential myCommunity myEnvironment^TM, that focuses on building skills, unlocking and nurturing talent and increasing entrepreneurialism in marginalised communities.

The research shows that 16 per cent of those aged 55 to 64 have considered, but not realised, their ambition of establishing their own business, with 23 per cent wanting more relevant support to help them do so.

Older entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly important to the UK economy. The number of businesses launched by people aged over 50 has increased by half over a period of 10 years and this age group now accounts for 15 per cent of all business start-ups in England and Wales¹.

“We need to see a fundamental shift in attitudes towards older people …”

Laurie South, PRIME

Laurie South, Chief Executive of PRIME said: “We need to see a fundamental shift in attitudes towards older people and society needs to be more open to the talents and invaluable experience older people can provide to the UK. Through our new strategic partnership with Bank of America, we can continue to build our organisation to provide practical and financial support to even more over 50s throughout the UK.”

As the economic downturn continues to threaten employment opportunities for older people² the need for increased support remains critical. 54 per cent of the 50+ age group currently seeking work feel that the current challenging financial environment will have a detrimental effect on their employment prospects.

The benefits of investing in the 50+ age group is underlined by research showing that 70 per cent of businesses started by people over 55 are on average still operating after six years, compared to just 19 per cent overall³.

“We are delighted to be partnering with PRIME …”

Dennis Arnum, Bank of America

“We are delighted to be partnering with PRIME on such an innovative and significant platform in the UK,” said Dennis Arnum, Bank of America Chief Operating Officer for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.  “The ageing demographic across Western Europe, and globally, brings with it significant challenges for society, governments and businesses alike. Our partnership with PRIME will create opportunities by unlocking the barriers to enterprise and releasing the entrepreneurial talent and wealth of experience within our community.”

As part of the partnership, Bank of America will also provide counselling through its employee business mentoring programme.

Each business that PRIME helps establish will provide a host of other comprehensive socio-economic benefits for the UK - including greater levels of wealth and job creation and a reduction in dependence on state benefits. Transferring one per cent of the economically inactive over 50s into self employment creates at least 25,000 new jobs and results in savings in welfare payments of £175 million⁴.

PRIME is strongly supported by the government who are working alongside the charity to realise the above benefits.

“There is no age limit on entrepreneurial spirit.”

Peter Mandelson, BERR

Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson said: “There is no age limit on entrepreneurial spirit. During the current economic climate it is even more vital that older people have the confidence to make their business ideas a reality.”

“We are currently working with PRIME, Business Link, Enterprise Insight and the Regional Development Agencies to make clear the business support available for older people, be it in starting a business or becoming self employed.”

- Ends -

Notes to Editors:

About the research

A full breakdown of the research referred to above is available on request.

Unless otherwise indicated, all research was gathered by GfK NOP during November 2008. This consisted of a nationally representative omnibus survey of 1,000 adults aged 16 and over. This included 472 respondents aged over 50.

1, 3 & 4 - Improving employment prospects for the over 50s, Christopher Smallwood and Linda Obiamiwe, PRIME (January 2008)

2 - Recent CIPD and KMPG research revealed that in light of the economic downturn almost one in five employers say that they are going to enforce the Government’s retirement age policy - which allows UK organisations to make workers over 65 redundant without having to provide a business reason for doing so - more vigorously. Redundancy fears haunt labour market, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and KMPG (31 October 2008)

About PRIME

There are 3.6 million people in the UK aged 50-65 who are not in employment. Unemployed people over 50 suffer the highest long-term unemployment rate. But an estimated 800,000 people currently classed as ‘economically inactive’ could return to the work-force if barriers to employment were overcome. Of those older people who feel at a disadvantage in the job market, a staggering 81 per cent say the attitude of employers to their age puts them at an automatic disadvantage. PRIME was founded to address these issues and in 2007 helped more than 1,000 over 50s return to work.

For more information about PRIME, please visit: http://www.primeinitiative.org.uk

About Bank of America

Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America will embark in 2009 on a new, ten-year goal to donate US$2 billion to charitable organisations engaged in improving the health and vitality of its communities. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than US$200 million in 2007, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world. Bank of America approaches community investment through an international strategy called ‘neighbourhood excellence’ under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, employee volunteers contributed more than 650,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide.

For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit: www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.

Reporters May Contact:

Laurie South, PRIME, +44 (0)20 8765 7833 or +44 (0)7778 271412

laurie.south@ace.org.uk

Elizabeth Wood, Bank of America, +44 (0)20 7174 4441

elizabeth.wood@bankofamerica.com

Ros Hunt, Cohn & Wolfe, +44 (0)20 7331 5442

ros.hunt@cohnwolfe.com

The Prince of Wales is 60 on the 14th of November 2008. PRIME itself was born around ten years ago, as a direct result of the approach of the Prince’s 50th birthday. He realised that for most people getting a job gets increasingly difficult with age. His post bag was full of letters from people desperate to work but unable to find anyone to employ them - because they were “too old”. PRIME and its sister charity in Wales PRIME-Cymru were the result - two of the 18 charities the Prince has personally founded.

The two PRIMEs help people over the age of 50 get round the problem of finding someone to employ them by setting up in business for themselves - self-employment as a means of getting back into the fray and earning a livelihood.

In addition to his charities, Prince Charles has also founded six social enterprises whose trading activities help fund them. The best known is the highly successful organic brand Duchy Originals, the most recent The Highgrove Shop. These activities are substantial - the charities alone raise over £100 million a year from all sources.

It would tempting to apply an American term like “social entrepreneur” to the Prince. But this would fail to do justice to the real roots of his commitment. This side of the Prince’s life gets well-deserved attention in an hour-and-a-half long BBC documentary two day’s before his 60th birthday.

“Charles At 60: the Passionate Prince” transmits at 8.30pm on BBC One on the 12th of November. The BBC has had unprecedented access over the course of a year to observe the Prince at work in the UK and abroad, at home at Clarence House in London, at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and Birkhall in Aberdeenshire.

“This important documentary sheds new light on the Prince of Wales”, says Nick Vaughan-Barratt, its Executive Producer. “It shows the Prince using his substantial influence to further a wide variety of causes – some of them unfashionable, some controversial – and it provides a rare opportunity to hear him speaking directly, not just about what he does but why he is so passionate about the many causes he espouses.”

UPDATE: Missed the programme?
Watch on BBC iPlayer.

More about the programme at the BBC web site

Full list of Prince’s charities and social enterprises

Philip Black has recently been made redundant at the age of 57. This programme in the Radio 4 Learning Curve strand follows him round London Olympia, talking to various exhibitors at the One Life Live show about what if anything they could do to help.

Back in the studio, presenter Libby Purves interviews Laurie South of PRIME, asking him whether self-employment can really offer a solution to Philip and people like him.

Listen to full programme

UPDATE: Extra
Interviews with Sir Alan Sugar, Professor Colin Gray and Laurie South of PRIME.

On Friday the 8th of February 2008 at 7pm BBC 2 is showing “Too Young to Retire” - a special edition of The Money Programme about people who are building successful businesses in their 60s and 70s.

One of the older entrepreneurs featured is chartered accountant Dick Pyle, who set up a truffle farm in France using an innovative adopt-a-truffle-tree business model. Customers pay £149 per tree - and then get all the produce from it. You can also visit your tree, or give trees as presents. He was just coming up to 60 and about to retire when he came up with this scheme.

Presenter Valerie Singleton also talks to sisters Penny Walker and Annabel Rhodes, who set up their own natural cosmetics business Rhodes to Heaven in their sixties. They are shown taking their products to the next stage, selling them into an upmarket High Street chain.

From the BBC press release:

Former Money Programme presenter Valerie Singleton sets out on a journey around Britain to meet some of the oldest entrepreneurs in Britain. She examines if age is a hindrance or help to a new business career and hears the experiences of those men and women who have decided it’s never too late to start.

Statistics show that those who are over fifty and find themselves out of work have only a one in ten chance of being re-employed. So the option of starting up on your own is very attractive and may even be essential.

Valerie Singleton meets a variety of entrepreneurs who are finding success in new fields. There are the sisters in their sixties who started a range of organic beauty products and are working to get high street distribution for them. Then there is the illustrator who has built up a highly successful online greeting card business. There is also the sky-diving septuagenarian who has set up a children’s charity. Finally she meets a retired PR executive who is now trading in truffles.

She also seeks the advice of the UK’s oldest employee and employer - who are both still going strong despite being over one hundred years old.

With expert input on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur from “The Apprentice” star Sir Alan Sugar, and Peter Jones from Dragons’ Den the programme examines just what are the advantages and disadvantages in being an older entrepreneur.

Three stories of older entrepeneurs are now on the BBC web site. All set up businesses in their fifties and sixties.

Myreen Young, an aromatherapist from Southampton, launched her own range of skin-care cosmetics at the age of 54. Two years later it appears to be going strong, with 30 salons across the UK also selling the MY Skincare branded products.

Ann Litster, 52, from Somerset set up her own cleaning business, also two years ago. At the time she had recently become unemployed and seriously needed the money. Her firm Hands on Cleaning now employs over 20 people.

The BBC’s third interviewee was Graham Siggs (more on his story here). He started his electrical testing business Huntspat in Cambridgeshire after being retired from the civil service at the age of 60.

“To find work at 60 is very difficult. I saw many high-flyers from the civil service end up stacking shelves,” Graham told the BBC.

“After the contract for the job I was doing ended I suddenly found myself retired at 59. A quick look at my bank balance convinced me I couldn’t stop working completely – and anyway I just didn’t feel old enough.”

Liz Friedrich, now 63, whose garden design business is profiled in Women & Home magazine.

Having already done a design course and been a keen gardener, Liz started in a small way working for friends of friends. But AFTER she had already completed several projects for paying customers she decided she needed more business expertise.

So she enrolled on PRIME partner London Metropolitan University’s Forward at 50 course. (There’s a new London Met course aimed at women setting up health and care businesses just starting up).

Liz’s new business acumen is paying off with a business venture based on feedback she was getting from her customers.

Many of her garden design clients were asking for gorgeous gardens that wouldn’t require them to do any work. Liz’s initial reaction was to patiently explain that that was just not possible. But they still kept asking.

So she’s now launching a Plant Box service with a fellow garden designer. They will sell fully-planted up containers for balconies and patios - and then come round and replant them in the spring and autumn.

The winner of PRIME’s November draw is Mr Robert Finch from Manchester. He wins a £100 in M & S vouchers, plus a bumper bundle of PRIME rock.

PRIME is holding a final prize draw in the run up to Christmas. To enter, just answer the seven quick questions in our “rock quiz”. We are again giving again £100 in M & S vouchers, plus sticks of rock with PRIME written through it! And maybe a Christmas card.

Enter here.

On another subject, if you haven’t thought about your pension arrangements yet, PRIME’s advice is to go and talk to an independent financial adviser who is familiar with self-employment issues. You can find a list of IFAs by region and speciality here.

Just in case you think we might be trying to sneak in a mention of the subject few self-employed people seem to want to think about - pensions, we are.

Here are five case studies of entrepreneurs over 50 from the Yell.com web site. All are finalists or winners of the Yellow Pages-sponsored ‘Silver Fox’ category at the 2007 Startups Awards, except Brian who won in 2005.

Myreen Young

MY Skincare Ltd
Southampton, Hampshire

Ann Litster

Hands on Cleaning
Clevedon, North Somerset

Gary Sheffield

Alpine Training Centre
Rye, East Sussex

Ken Bird

Dwrpur Pure Water Ltd
St Clears, Carmarthenshire

Brian Plunkett

Trichocare Diagnostics Ltd
Ridgmont, Beds

Here’s an interesting collection of stories from New Zealand of people who set up their own businesses after being made redundant.

Refreshingly, what has happened to these people since has not been written up in the usual relentless “success story” style. For example, where people have motives other than the desire to get rich (for example revenge or the desire to spend more time gardening) these are reflected in the story.

Sample quote: “But we don’t want to put our money into the business”, says Elaine [one half of a successful garden tools company]. “We want to buy a boat and go down the canals in Europe.”

Grandad’s Back in Business is a new four-part TV series that goes out at 9pm on Monday nights. Each programme follows an older candidate – aged between 50 and 65, as they try to break back into the industry in which they once worked. Pitted against them is a younger candidate looking for their first break. 

In the first episode, 60-year-old unemployed hairdresser Raymond goes for a full-time job at a top London salon. He is up against 17-year-old Rebecca in a month-long probationary test.

Who got the job? If you’ve got access to a cable or satellite time-shifting service you may still be able to view the programme. But here’s a clip that doesn’t spoil the ending.

Next week two comedians, one aged 62 and the other 25, compete for a year-long contract at a comedy club.

Reaction to first episode with Raymond and Rebecca (note: contain spoilers).

 James Walton at the Daily Telegraph

Nancy Banks-Smith at The Guardian

A new small-business award has been launched for those who live on Merseyside, backed by the Liverpool Daily Post and Dominique Faversham Group. The prize is 12 months’ mentoring and support, and a loan of up to £100,000. There are three age categories, including one for people aged 50+. The closing date is noon on the 1st of October 2007.
More details at

www.thesearchmerseyside.com