Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are set to play a crucial role in Britain’s low carbon recovery – creating thousands of green jobs – according to a new report.
The study, '
Not So Little Britain’, was commissioned by mobile phone company
O2 to lift the lid on the opportunities that lie ahead for the
small business sector. It found that in 'new economy’ sectors, such as recycling,
SMEs will be responsible for adding almost 700,000 more new employees than larger companies over the next decade. It also concluded that small businesses had a competitive advantage over bigger companies in the green industries because of their strength in distribution and diversity and their flexibility to respond quickly to commercialise emerging markets.
SMEs account for 99.9 per cent of workplaces and 68 per cent of the workforce in the UK.
The O2 research, which was carried out by SWQ Consulting, based its findings on analysis of SMEs’ economic contribution to the last economic cycle between 1998 and 2008. It found in that period small businesses outperformed larger competitors in terms of job growth in a number of sectors, including
construction (82 per cent), h
otels and restaurants (93 per cent), real estate activities (63 per cent) and
computer and related activities (63 per cent).
SMEs to generate 200,000 jobs a year
The report predicts that Britain’s small businesses will generate over 200,000 jobs a year from 2010 and that they will be the main drivers of job creation in 'new economy’ sectors such as green, creative and health. These three sectors alone are predicted to add more than 400,000 jobs and around five per cent GVA growth annually over the next three years.
According to the report, the downturn has improved SMEs’ chances of recruiting high flying employees made redundant by larger corporations. It is estimated that 25 per cent of small business
recruitment is now from larger businesses. SMEs are also filling the gap in the domestic employment market as many larger companies send jobs overseas, according to the report.
"It’s fantastic to see the small business sector continuing to lead the recovery charge, playing on its strengths to overcome the challenging economic climate," said Simon Devonshire, head of Small Business Marketing at O2. "The research is vital to us as a business to help us gain insight into the role and performance of small businesses over the next economic cycle and understand their changing communications needs. More small businesses do business with O2 than any other network and we intend to be there every step of the way to help them continue to prosper."
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