Dollar Financial UK, the Nottingham-based short-term consumer credit company, is backing calls for business skills to be given a higher profile in schools.

The Young Enterprise Charter will be presented to Parliament on October 11 amid concerns that efforts to nurture entrepreneurship and business leaders of the future are being undermined by the Government's desire to focus on academic knowledge.

The Young Enterprise education charity works to inspire students by connecting them and their schools with volunteers from business. It is best known for its work helping students set up and run their own companies learning management, marketing and commercial skills through direct experience.

Each year about 3,500 businesses help more than 250,000 youngsters, aged between four and 25, in more than 5,000 schools, colleges, universities and their communities.

But the charity's leaders fear their work could suffer and, ultimately, the long-term health of the economy could be harmed.

Young Enterprise chairman Ian Smith said: "The key problem is that Education Secretary Michael Gove has swung the school curriculum towards an emphasis on academic knowledge and exams.

"Young Enterprise believes this ignores a huge amount of evidence of the inspirational and empowering effect that 'learning by doing' and inviting volunteers from business into the classroom can have.

"The danger of the Government's approach is that it is squeezing enterprise education out of the classroom."

Dollar Financial UK already supports Young Enterprise's Learn to Earn scheme and joins many leading organisations including Tata Steel in signing the charter. Signatories believe and recognise that:

· The UK's economy depends on equipping young people with skills, attitudes and aspirations they will  need to succeed as tomorrow's enterprising employees, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

· Young Enterprise has unparalleled experience and expertise to lead the drive for a better skilled UK workforce by connecting business, education and young people to inspire each other through enterprise.

The charter calls for Government to prioritise and support outstanding enterprise education and that it becomes a statutory part of the curriculum.

It also urges employers to acknowledge the crucial role they can play in the development of their future workforce and to support, nurture and enable staff to volunteer time to pass on their business experience and skills to the next generation. It calls for 10,000 volunteer days to be dedicated to enterprise education during 2011/12.

And schools, colleges and universities are being asked to provide opportunities for young people to take part in enterprise activities throughout their education.

Dollar Financial UK's corporate affairs director Caroline Walton said: "We are already involved with Young Enterprise through the Learn to Earn programme, which puts volunteer employees in schools making contact and setting challenges for children aged between 12 and 16.

"Nurturing and inspiring the business leaders and entrepreneurs of the future is vital for the long-term health of our economy. It is crucial that Government, business and schools recognise this and support the Young Enterprise Charter's aims and ambitions."

Dollar Financial UK is part of the US-based DFC Global Corp, which has operations in the USA, the UK, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Poland.

In the UK, the group embraces the Money Shop and Express Finance brands, Paydayloans.co.uk, Paydayexpress.co.uk through its Month End Money subsidiary, business cash advances, foreign cash exchange and jewellers and pawnbroking business such as  Suttons and Robertsons, Duncanson  and Edwards and Robert Biggar.

As a leading member of the Consumer Finance Association, Dollar Financial UK is committed to responsible lending and is regulated by the Office of Fair Trading.