A Hampshire university is appealing for recent graduates looking to start their own businesses to join a major project aimed at boosting opportunities for people not in work.

The University of Winchester’s Inspiring Enterprise programme has received £1.45m of National Lottery funding from the Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund as part of the Building Better Opportunities programme.

The university is holding events for unemployed or economically inactive graduates to find out more about starting their own enterprise.

A range of workshops, advice sessions, mentoring and networking events will continue until the end of 2018 for those wishing to develop their ideas.

The university is specifically targeting unemployed graduates thinking of starting their own businesses, but help is also available for students nearing the end of academic studies who are considering self-employment.

Project officer Lindsey Birtwhistle, who is co-ordinating the project, said: “We will be working with students who live within the M3 corridor – and we are also open to people who have graduated from any university within the last three years as long as they live in this region and are unemployed.

“We have already had a large sign-up from our students. They are all driven, ambitious and have a huge range of different ideas and skills. However, it is harder to locate recent graduates so I am appealing for more to come forward to participate.”

Lindsey added: “We will pair participants up with mentors, invite them to workshops led by industry specialists, stage networking events, build connections and offer access to a huge pool of shared resources.”

The project is managed by WSX Enterprise, with support from partners Surrey Community Action, Fredericks Foundation, the University of Winchester, and Action Hampshire.

WSX Enterprise Project Manager Liz Wright said: “Students sometimes have a tough time getting their first job after finishing university or college.

“The support that the University of Winchester is offering will help them to turn their skills and ideas into a sustainable business, helping them take their first steps into self-employment.”

Overall, Inspiring Enterprise will help 500 unemployed people in the New Forest, North Hampshire and South Surrey to change their own lives and the communities in which they live.

Find out more about the project at inspiringenterprise.org.uk or by calling 01962 827435.