Successful freelancers don’t always need qualifications

In fact only 1% of the graduates who are planning to start their own business believe that qualifications are essential.

That view may not be so surprising when you consider that Richard Branson is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of his generation and yet when he left school he had not even passed any "O" levels.

The small business insurer also discovered that 40% of budding entrepreneurs believe the ability to think creatively is a vital attribute, 38% say that networking is essential and 28% consider risk taking an important factor.

IT and computing graduates are most likely to set up their own business (38%) compared to just over a quarter of business management graduates.

Hiscox's research also examined regional trends and discovered that the lack of graduate opportunities has encouraged 40% of students from London to establish their own business or do so shortly. 36% of students from Hull aspire to be entrepreneurs, followed by 32% of those in Glasgow.

The Scottish Executive revealed last week that more than 2,670 of the 43,810 Scots who obtained higher education qualifications in 2008-09 had not found a job six months later.

Ian Aitchison, from Barclays Bank, is anticipating a surge in small business start-ups when the results of the Government spending review are made known.

He vehemently defended Barclays' reputation and said that as long as customers were honest with the bank, the bank would be supportive. Last year saw an increase of 14% in the number of start-ups that were helped by Barclays.

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