A young woman from Lambeth – who has made her childhood dreams come true by setting up in business with help from The Prince’s Trust – is now calling on the city’s unemployed youth to create their own job and become their own boss.

Recent figures reveal that more than one in 10 young people in Lambeth are struggling to find a job, but only 16.6 per cent of people in the city are currently self-employed[1].

Ever since she was a schoolgirl, Kate Bruce, 31, from Lambeth, wanted to run her own creative business.

“I’ve loved art and design since studying it at school so I geared myself towards a creative career.”

After researching business support online, she came across The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme and was assigned a mentor to help her develop her strategy.

Determined to get her business right, she spent months researching the market. It was the consistently positive feedback for her necklaces that led her to set up Katiico, a contemporary jewellery business that designs on-trend, hand-crafted jewellery made from rare, fairly traded beads sourced direct from Ghana.

Kate is now on track for providing the security she craves for herself and her daughter, now six; she sells her jewellery online, through The Prince’s Trust Tomorrow’s Store and at Covent Garden market.

“Securing a spot at Covent Garden’s prestigious market was a big achievement for me. It’s also nice to meet my customers and share the history of the beads with them.”

Kate’s journey with The Prince’s Trust has been a big learning curve, but one that she doesn’t regret.

“I’m grateful for the support and opportunities I’ve been given, thanks to The Prince’s Trust. It means so much that they believed in me and my products. It’s not just helped me with my enterprise; it’s helped me to believe in myself. I’m now a successful mother, businesswoman and role model for my daughter all wrapped up into one and it feels good.”

The Prince’s Trust and RBS are now launching a new campaign to back more young entrepreneurs like Kate across the UK. The Trust has supported more than 80,000 disadvantaged young people into business since 1983 and aims to help more young people through enterprise this year than ever.

Dermot Finch, regional director for the South of England, at The Prince’s Trust, says: “Young people can achieve amazing things with the right support – but all too often they have never had anyone to believe in them and crucially, lack self-confidence. “We have helped more than 70 entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground in Lambeth over the last year – such as beauticians, barbers, dog groomers and digital agencies – and we want to help more young people become their own boss. The Prince’s Trust can help with free intensive support, low interest loans and business mentors to support young people at every step of the way.”

Thom Kenrick at RBS, which is the biggest corporate funder of The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme, said: “With three quarters of a million young people still struggling to find a job, it can be tough to break out of long-term unemployment and depression. Our research via the RBS Enterprise Tracker has shown that 50% of young people have a hobby or pastime that could or does earn them extra income. This is where The Prince's Trust can help. We know that, with a little bit of support and mentoring, it is possible to turn these interests, hobbies or talents into a viable business. Not only this, but it can change your life and give you something positive to focus on for the future.”

Through the campaign, unemployed young people are being encouraged to submit business ideas at www.princes-trust.org.uk/ideas and on Twitter using the #MyBigIdea hashtag.

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps change young lives. It works with 13-to-30-year-olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law. Three in four young people helped by The Prince’s Trust move into work, training or education.

Based on information supplied by .