He's best known for his appearances on TV's "Dragon's Den", with a pile ofbanknotes on the table beside him as he listens to hopefuls telling him why heshould fund their ideas ... and, on the whole, turning them down due to theirlow return on his investment.
But there's another side to Peter Jones CBE that many people may not beaware of: for seven years now, he's been giving young people across the UKthe helping hand they've been needing to start their career in business andentrepreneurship.
Established in 2005, the Peter Jones Foundation has been helpingyoung people between the ages of 16 and 18 - and in particular thosefrom disadvantaged backgrounds - become the new generation of British
entrepreneurs.
In 2008, formal schooling specifically for delivering enterprise andentrepreneurial qualifications took shape in the form of the National EnterpriseAcademy, launched with the blessing and backing of the then LabourGovernment.
Now renamed the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, working with some ofthe best businesses in the UK who've taken students on in a work placementcapacity, the Academy has been offering Level 2 and Level 3 BTEC Diplomasin Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, delivering courses through seventeenof the UK's leading colleges, including Newham, Westminster Kingsway,Newcastle, Oldham and Preston.
The Academy has developed a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship inEnterprise, to be rolled out across the network of colleges this September.
Offering young people on the job training in areas like business developmentand project management, with the possibility of a fast track into a good jobwith promising prospects, the Academy’s Level 5 Advanced Apprenticeship inInnovation and Growth is currently under development.
The Academy is currently looking for participation from businesses across theUK - whatever their industry and size to help develop the framwork.
Alice Barnard, Chief Executive of the Peter Jones Foundation, says thatsome of the country's best-known entrepreneurs mastered their skills throughapprenticeships.
But it's not just young people who benefits from this kind of on the job training:giving them industry-relevant, cutting edge business skills helps the UK tocatch up with other economies in terms of innovation activity and employeeskills levels.
According to the National Audit Office, apprenticeships are a worthwhileinvestment, because every single pound spent on an apprenticeshipgenerates £18 towards the national economy.
And that's the kind of return on investment Peter Jones wouldn't want to turndown.
