Graduates seeking to start their own business may now access mentors, business know-how and various forms of support through a new programme called Under My Wing.

The project, led by the Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs, brings together nine partners from eight EU member states. Over the next two years partners will combine their knowledge and experience to develop a suite of learning resources and support systems to help graduate entrepreneurs realise their potential.

Under My Wing aims to support graduates in their career progression as the Foundation’s Maryrose Francica explained: “The economic downturn has had a particularly negative impact on our young graduates, many of whom are either unemployed or working well below their skill level.

“These young people are critical to our chances of economic recovery and we need to examine all possible avenues to help them on their way.”

A new business immersion model developed as part of Under My Wing will provide graduates with opportunities to develop their entrepreneurial competences and fine-tune their business ideas in real-life micro-enterprise environments with the support and guidance of a micro-enterprise manager.

As Under My Wing is a trans-national project, full advantage will be taken of the opportunities for exchange of graduates, so they can experience working life abroad.

According to Ms Francica, Under My Wing is “a great example of how funding from the EU Lifelong Learning Programme can be used to bring business support agencies, micro-enterprises, and education providers together to support the transformation of our graduates into fully-fledged entrepreneurs”.

Details of the project are available at www.undermywing.eu.