Croydon businesses are being urged to recruit top graduate and school leaver talent as a way to grow during the recession.

The call comes from Business Link in London, an organisation which supplies free advice and support to businesses across the capital.

A survey conducted by Business Link in London among more than 100 small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in Croydon, showed that 77 per cent were feeling optimistic about their overall business success over the next 12 months.

Business Link in London believes this optimism gives weight to its argument that the time is ripe for SMEs in the borough to hire school leavers and graduates.

On the back of that belief, Business Link in London advisers are offering an initial assessment to interested companies to determine what added value they can gain if they decide to take on young people.

Denis Palmer, Business Link in London's regional manager, said: "If you want to grow your business, hiring talented graduates and school leavers can be one of the best things you can do.

"These young people are hungry for experience, often bringing an injection of energy to a business and are ambitious to learn."

"As our poll shows, most businesses are feeling optimistic about the future.

"We now need to make sure the conditions are in place to help business grow, including the effective recruitment of young talent.

"Students leaving colleges or university can be incredibly skilled and are looking for their first big career break.

"Capitalising on this energy can provide a big boost for small businesses – a win win situation for everyone."

In addition to checking on company optimism the Business Link survey also asked firms in the borough to give a view of how they were being affected by the economic climate and what they were intending to do to grow their businesses over the next 12 months.

Sixty five per cent of those who replied said they were suffering from cashflow restraints, while 59 per cent were being by limited investment in funding.

On the positive side for workforces, only 22 per cent of companies said they were looking at cutting costs or making redundancies to cope with the recession.

Thirty six per cent of respondents claimed they would be increasing marketing to sell their products with the same number deciding they would attempt to enter new markets to gain extra business.

And 34 per cent revealed they were intending to launch new products.

For further information about Business Link in London's advice services visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/london or call 0845 6000 787.