CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer Gordon Brown launched the first National Enterprise Week Make Your Mark - Start Talking Ideas.

It is first national campaign of its kind to kick-start a more enterprising culture amongst young people in the UK.

Activities have been arranged across the county and throughout Britain. Business Editor Trevor Sturgess reports.

ENTERPRISE has been at the heart of British success for generations.

But there has been evidence in recent years of young people turning away from an enterprise culture.

Ribbons of red tape have also discouraged people from going it alone, preferring the security of paid employment.

Asked how many wanted to go into business, only a handful of young people raised their hands at a seminar held a few years ago in Canterbury.

But there are encouraging signs things are changing for the better. Young Enterprise is doing a remarkable job in schools where students are gaining a flavour of business by setting up their own company.

They promote their wares at trade fairs and compete for annual awards, and business people pass on their wisdom to the young companies.

Even tax officials are trying to make things easier. The Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise are supporting the week.

David Varney, chairman of the new uniting revenue department, said: "We are a vital part of this week - without a clear understanding of tax issues, many businesses will struggle.

"Small businesses are central to the Government's enterprise agenda, innovation and job creation. By working closely together, Revenue and Customs can remove the barriers facing young people who wish to start their own business and advance their creativity and enterprise."

Others involved are Education Business Partnerships across Kent and Medway. Every year, they place thousands of young people in the workplace for a week or two.

Some business people feel too many teachers are still not switched on enough to the world of work. Nigel Bourne, regional director of the CBI, said recently: "A lot of teachers still don't understand the skills and abilities that business needs."

There is also the changing nature of work, with the ending of lifetime careers and the awareness by young people that they will undertake a range of jobs before they retire, with the constant need to learn and re-learn.

This encourages a sense of independence that often finds an outlet in self-employment, offering young people extra freedom to shape their own lives.

Success for all this activity, as well as the Enterprise Week, depends on a host of sponsors, mentors, advisers and firms willing to host placements.

There is a constant demand for more. As anyone involved in the youthful enterprise business knows too well, there are never enough to meet demand.

If the week encourages more employers - especially the smaller ones - to offer their services, and persuades more young people that setting up in business offers fun, excitement, job satisfaction and, usually, bigger rewards than working for an employer, it will have made its point.