Has your credit union invested in and nurtured the next generation of entrepreneurs?
Operation HOPE and Gallup have joined forces to gauge young consumers' attitudes about entrepreneurship and financial literacy as a way to help gain insight into how they envision their economic future.
The goal of this inaugural Gallup-HOPE Index has been to identify and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs in a bid to help communities sustain long-term economic energy. Some 30 million students in grades five through 12 participated in research efforts.
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According to the findings, while America's future depends more and more on the success of its youth, more than 1.2 million students drop out of high school each year. The Gallup-HOPE Index has also found that despite this, many students in the U.S. have the entrepreneurial aspiration and energy needed to build a business that will survive, grow, and employ others.
Opportunity exists in that gap between the entrepreneurial hope and attitudes in youth and the lack of access to business/entrepreneurship education and practical work experience.
"There seems to be pretty good intent among students to start a business or to discover something that will change the world; both are around 40% each. But the big failure of our leadership is that only 5% of these students are in internships in companies or organizations. This is arguably the single biggest failure of our leadership. Not Washington's, not the public schools'–but yours and mine," stated Jim Clifton, chairman of Gallup and John Hope Bryant, founder/chairman/CEO of Operation HOPE in report's foreword.
According to the report, educators must invite business leaders to interact with their schools in practical and meaningful ways. Entrepreneurs must explore their own talent and share what makes them successful with young, future business builders. As for business leaders within the community, they should not only be investing in their current employees and tracking key performance indicators, but by identifying and investing in young talent and providing internships and practical work experience to youth.
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