A BRIGHOUSE businessman has been invited to become an Ambassador for the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise.

The charity, backed by the Prince of Wales, is dedicated to helping unemployed people over 50 set up their own businesses.

Carl Hopkins, who has more than 25 years’ business and marketing experience, first became involved with PRIME following an invitation to attend a round table hosted by Prince Charles last June to discuss how businesses and organisations can connect better with people over the age of 50.

Carl, who has launched a number of businesses himself, said that he was attracted to the initiative’s aims as he also champions enterprise skills for young people in connection with the not-for-profit organisation Are You Ready? of which he is a founding patron.

Said Carl: “With the retirement age getting progressively older and pensions getting smaller, those aged 50 and over need to think of other ways to finance their futures and become financially independent.

“Self-employment provides a very viable solution and the Prince’s Initiative is the only national organisation dedicated to offering support to achieve this.

I am honoured to have been invited to become an ambassador for the Prince’s Initiative and look forward to empowering even more over 50s who are unemployed or facing redundancy, to explore self-employment. This demographic is a great untapped resource of experience that could benefit all businesses.”

Nick Bunting, CEO of Prince’s Initiative, said: “We are delighted that Carl Hopkins has become an Ambassador for the Prince’s Initiative as he brings a wealth of business and entrepreneurial experience.

“Mature workers have the right skills to benefit the UK economy and we hope that Carl will continue to assist us in our advocacy, fundraising and programme efforts to support the unemployed over 50s.”

In the Yorkshire region, employment prospects for the over 50s are stark.

According to the latest Labour Market statistics from the Office for National Statistics, 35,000 thousand people aged 50 to 64 are currently unemployed.

To help support the over-50s, the Prince’s Initiative is hosting several free events over the next couple of months.

Go to www.prime.org.uk or phone 0845 8622023.