The young ones: as graduates struggle to find challenging and rewarding careers fresh out of university, Natalie Hoare speaks to young entrepreneurs who are their own bosses through franchising.(Special Feature)

Reports in the media suggest new graduates are struggling to get their foot in the door of a challenging career due to the saturation of a contracted job market, thanks to the credit crunch.

A recent survey of people aged between 18 and 30 by the Prince's Trust and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, found that 41 per cent of young people aspire to start their own business, while a further 78 per cent said they have a business idea'. And with such a clear indication that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well among our nation's young people, this age group is poorly represented in franchising, which can be a great way of reducing the risks of going into business.

According to the 2010 Natwest/bfa survey, franchisees under the age of 30 represent just nine per cent of the UK's franchisees. But. it seems this is an improvement compared with a few years ago - in 2006 just five per cent of franchisees fell into this age bracket.

"Without a shadow of a doubt we're definitely seeing more young people getting involved with franchising." says Chris Gillam. UK managing director of Franfind. "I suspect the reason is that young people today have a different outlook and want to be in control of their own destiny if they can.

But …