When it comes to the O in the SWOT analysis of my project, I believe there is room for opportunities in various areas. The first ones that came to mind are listed below
Paid tax from international students
By allowing international students to legally freelance, there are potential international freelancers that will need to pay tax on their income after setting themselves up as sole-traders.
Tax and sole-trader education programs
One of my project’s weaknesses is that the complexities of tax law can create challenges for international students. They could potentially not pay their taxes accordingly, not understand the process of registering as a sole-trader, or have missteps if paying National Insurance rates, among a few issues.
However, I believe that if people take enough time to learn about the process it can be done with enough understanding. GOV.UK’s website lays out all the information in a way I believe is straight-forward, but different guides could be adapted to be more comprehensive. For example, the guides can be translated to different languages.
To take this further, if tax misunderstanding gets flagged as an argument against freelancing a program could be proposed where international students who want to freelance learn about the details of UK taxing in a comprehensive way. This could be either optional or required for those who wish to become self-employed. There is some room for collaboration with tax experts who wish to partner with universities or students in general.
More source of income for international students leads to more spending
If students are able to have a higher supplemental source of income while they study, they will likely be driven to spend more money for leisure, putting more money into the local economies they are a part of.
More entrepreneurs in the UK
According to Business Matters, after a 20-year upward trend among entrepreneurs in the UK, the pandemic brought that trend to a pause after many entrepreneurs were “Largely left to fend for themselves once COVID-19 spread to the UK” (Business Matters, 2020). Other factors contributed to this decline, including lack of government support and many EU residents having to leave the country due to Brexit. Yet, Liam Kelly reported for the Times that one in five Britons wishes to start their own business. The younger demographics are the most inclined to begin a business, with one third of 18 to 34-year-olds hoping to begin a business (Kelly, 2021). In addition, despite the year the early stages of the pandemic brought, SME Loans found that 83% of 18 to 24-year-olds “dream of self-employment” (Rosling, 2020).
Based on US News rankings, the UK is 4th worldwide for entrepreneurship, right behind Japan, Germany, and the US, in rank order. This opens room for improvement for the UK to hold a higher spot on the list. However, with recent government funding cuts to areas such as the creative industries and self-employment loans, different hurdles have arisen for freelancers and entrepreneurs to sustain their own work.
By allowing international students, whose numbers in the UK are intended to rise according to a government plan, such students who are interested in becoming self-employed could add to the numbers for entrepreneurs in the UK to rise. Many students could add valuable small businesses to the economy, diversify the self-employment sector, and help the UK rise in rankings for entrepreneurs.
Ease in the pathway toward an Start-up or Innovator visa
The UK has two major visas for those who wish to run their own business: the Start-up visa and the Innovator visa. Below are the details as found on the GOV.UK website.
Start-up visa
You can apply for a Start-up visa if:
- you want to set up an innovative business in the UK – it must be something that’s different from anything else on the market
- you’re at least 18 years old
- meet the English language requirement
- be able to prove that you have enough personal savings to support yourself while you’re in the UK
- you need to have had at least £1,270 in your bank account for 28 consecutive days
You must be endorsed by an authorised body that is either:
- a UK higher education institution
- a business organisation with a history of supporting UK entrepreneurs
You must be able to show that your business idea is:
- a new idea – you cannot join in a business that is already trading
- innovative – you must have an original business idea which is different from anything else on the market
- viable – it has potential for growth
Innovator visa
You can apply for an Innovator visa if:
- you want to set up and run an innovative business in the UK – it must be something that’s different from anything else on the market
- your business or business idea has been endorsed by an approved body, also known as an endorsing body
- you meet the English language requirement
- you’re at least 18 years old
- you’re able to prove that you have enough personal savings to support yourself while you’re in the UK
- you need to have had at least £1,270 in your bank account for 28 consecutive days
- you must have at least £50,000 in investment funds to apply for an Innovator visa if you want to set up a new business.
You must be able to show that your business idea is:
- new – you cannot join a business that is already trading
- innovative – you must have an original business idea which is different from anything else on the market
- viable, with potential for growth
Source: GOV.UK
To access these visas, you must prepare to meet the requirements, including a business proposal. Allowing international students to begin as independent workers early during their studies may give them head start in their business ideas, setting them up with good credibility and helping them build support throughout such years. This would increase the chances of many of those looking into staying longer in the UK as an independent worker, heightening the entrepreneurship status of the UK and diversifying business ownership in the country.
References
Adams, R. (2021). International students in UK generate huge economic gains – study. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/sep/09/international-students-in-uk-generate-huge-economic-gains-study.
Business Matters. (2020). To be truly robust in the face of economic crises, the UK needs to instil a culture of entrepreneurship. [online] Available at: https://bmmagazine.co.uk/opinion/to-be-truly-robust-in-the-face-of-economic-crises-the-uk-needs-to-instil-a-culture-of-entrepreneurship/.
GOV.UK (n.d.). Innovator visa. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/innovator-visa.
GOV.UK (n.d.). Self Assessment tax returns. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns.
GOV.UK (2012). Set up as a sole trader. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader.
GOV.UK (2019). Start-up visa. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/start-up-visa.
Kelly, L. (2021). One in five Britons wants to be an entrepreneur. The Times. [online] 3 Jan. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/one-in-five-britons-wants-to-be-an-entrepreneur-pckjxw8dv.
Rosling, L. (2020). 64% of Britain’s Workforce Wants To Set Up Their Own Business. [online] SME Loans. Available at: https://www.smeloans.co.uk/blog/64-percent-of-britains-workforce-want-to-start-a-business/.
U.S. News. (2020). The Best Countries for Entrepreneurs. [online] Available at: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/entrepreneurship-rankings.