The Flying Start programme, run by the recently established National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE), has been set up to offer advice, information and sources of finance to enterprising youngsters.

Rallies will be held nationwide in 2005 with a view to selecting 12 finalists, each of whom will be trained in business development by accountants, legal experts and other mentors.

Chancellor Gordon Brown said: “In this world of open, global competition, it is only by the ingenuity, inventiveness and enterprise of our graduates that we can hope to succeed.

NGCE was formed in 2004 with the aim of raising the profile of entrepreneurship and the option of starting your own business as a career choice amongst students and graduates. Karan Bilimoria, one of UK’s most successful young businessmen, was made the first Champion of the NCGE, to be held up as an example of what graduates can achieve.

The Council, which is based in Birmingham, is not only focused on graduates starting businesses, but understanding, developing and promoting a culture of entrepreneurship within Higher Education through research, education and facilitation. NCGE aims to become the national focal point for graduate entrepreneurship and will collaborate with bodies across the UK.