BUZZ, enthusiasm, excitement - they were all on display at Sittingbourne Enterprise Hub.

Fifty young people giving a real wow factor to National Enterprise Week. You would hardly think the spirit of enterprise was dead when you see these youngsters coming up with so many innovative ideas.

And yet the purpose of the week was to encourage more young people to take up self-employment and become the wealth creators of tomorrow.

The stark truth is that apart from a handful of business stars such as Charles Dunstone (Carphone Warehouse), Julian Richer (Richer Sounds), James Dyson, Stelios Haji-Ioannou (easyJet), there are just not enough entrepreneurs in Britain.

The culture of enterprise is often lacking in our schools, too many teachers have yet to be switched on to the needs of business, and young people often prefer the apparent safety of working for someone else.

There is also an urgent need for finance for good business ideas, and the Enterprise Loan Fund in North Kent, launched this week, should help.

In Kent and Medway, there are thankfully many schools that encourage enterprise with a range of initiatives. One or two with business and enterprise status are beginning to embed it in their academic culture.

But for the rest, it is imperative enterprise is introduced into the curriculum. Factory floors and offices employing vast numbers are a thing of the past.

Only supermarkets like Tesco seem to defy this rule, a tribute to Sir Terry Leahy, this week named Business Person of the Year. He has put entrepreneurial flair into the chain, even though he has spent almost all his career with the company. But it should be remembered that Tesco was once a start-up business.

The CBI has warned that within a scholastic generation, there will be very few jobs for those without skills or qualifications.

Setting up on your own is one way out. Not all entrepreneurs have honours degrees. You can come up with a winning idea whether you went to Oxbridge or left school at 16.

These are the businesses that will create the jobs of the future. There are a host of unmet customer needs - the trick is to find them.

The message of National Enterprise Week was a serious one. But with more enterprise comes more fun.