Lord Young: One million jobless young people is one million new business opportunities

Entrepreneurship is one solution to Britain's unemployment problems, a former business secretary has claimed.

Speaking at the launch of StartUp Britain's new small business events calendar, Lord Young said: "One million young people out of work is one million opportunities to start a business."

The peer, who is an enterprise advisor to prime minister David Cameron, said that in the 10 years from 1979 and 1989, when he was a minister, "the UK went from the sixth strongest economy in Europe to a leading economy for one reason; startups".

Continuing his speech at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Lord Young revealed that the government will be launching new initiatives over the coming weeks which "will accelerate the process of working for yourself".

Also speaking at the event was business and enterprise minister Mark Prisk who quipped: "Entrepreneurship has risen despite [BBC reporter] Robert Peston making his best attempts to scare us".

Prisk also said he was proud of how the government has supported the annual Global Entrepreneurship Week initiative but added: "why can't it be Entrepreneurship Week every week?"

The StartUp Britain Enterprise Calendar is an interactive diary of events for small business across Britain.

Included is BusinessZone.co.uk entrepreneurial competition The Pitch which celebrates its fifth birthday in 2012. The contest gives small business owners the chance to win support worth £50,000.

Pernille Brunn-Jensen, managing director, global small business at Intuit UK, discusses the StartUp Britain Enterprise Calendar: