PEOPLE confronted with redundancy who are having to reconsider their career options will benefit from an event for entrepreneurs.

At the Chance to Change workshop leading business figures will share their experiences and inspire people who could use their redundancy to start a business.

The event, organised by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, will support the work done in the past two years of the If We Can You Can campaign, which has inspired the creation of hundreds of businesses across the North-East.

Chance to Change will be held on Monday, February 22, at Newcastle Civic Centre. It will be a starting point for anyone who is considering starting a business, or is looking for their next step after redundancy.

The conference, which is being backed by The Northern Echo, is supported by key partners from across the region.

Margaret Fay, chairwomman of regional development agency One North East, which is supporting the event, said: “There is a general consensus that entrepreneurs have an increasing role to play in the future success of the economy and we should see this as an opportunity to transform the economic make-up of this region by creating more entrepreneurial businesses.”

Carole Beverley, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, said: “No one is ever going to suggest that starting a business is the easy option – such a step into the unknown can be daunting or even intimidating.

“But there has never been a better time to give it a go because you’re not alone.

“There are plenty who are in the same position and plenty who’ve been through it, come out the other side and once they’ve worked through the doubts and challenges never look back.”

Supporters of the event include Newcastle City Council, Tyne and Wear Development Company, Business and Enterprise North-East, Business Link, the North-East Chamber of Commerce and the University of Teesside.

To register for the event, visit chancetochange.co.uk, call 0870-850-2233 or email info @entrepreneursforum.net