eBay Self Made: New Programme Backs Young Entrepreneurs

eBay has teamed up with The King's Trust to launch eBay Self Made, a six-month youth entrepreneurship programme that turns side-hustle ambition into practical business skills. Announced on October 6, 2026, the scheme arrives alongside fresh Censuswide research showing that more than half of Brits aged 18 to 24 now see starting a business as a realistic career option, according to eBay.

The findings land in a tough jobs market. Fewer than half of the young people surveyed saw a full-time job as a realistic way to earn their ideal income, while just over half agreed that running a business of their own was realistic for someone like them. The eBay Self Made announcement is designed to close exactly that gap: ambition is running ahead of know-how, and the programme aims to supply the missing practical skills.

The backdrop is stark. Almost one million people aged 16 to 24 across the UK are currently not in education, employment or training. At the same time, young people are already improvising: nearly two-thirds of those aged 18 to 24 make money outside paid employment, through reselling, freelancing and content creation. That do-it-yourself income is exactly the instinct the new programme wants to professionalise.

What eBay Self Made participants will learn

eBay Self Made is a practical six-month programme built with The King's Trust, aimed at young people who want to build an e-commerce business from scratch. The curriculum focuses on the skills that define modern online selling: using AI tools, live selling through interactive livestreams, creating content and building online communities, alongside the fundamentals of running a business. Participants will learn directly from successful eBay sellers and industry experts on the programme, as reported by ChannelX.

The programme begins with a pilot group of 15 young people. eBay Self Made participants start with a two-week hands-on experience before moving onto an individual pathway with at least six months of follow-on support. The goal for each graduate is to progress their own side or main hustle, or to secure a placement with an established business. That structure follows The King's Trust's established Get Ready model, adapted for e-commerce.

Ambition for the scheme goes well beyond the pilot. The programme is expected to scale to reach more than 100 young people nationwide in 2027, bringing the eBay Self Made model to young entrepreneurs wherever they live in the UK.

Ambition is outrunning know-how

The Censuswide data behind the launch reveals a clear skills gap. Almost three in ten young people feel confident promoting a product or business online, but that confidence collapses when it comes to the unglamorous back office of running a company. Fewer than one in five said they could confidently handle basic bookkeeping, around one in eight could source inventory, and only just over one in ten knew how to find and apply for a business grant. The eBay Self Made curriculum is explicitly aimed at that weak spot.

Money shapes both the motivation and the barrier. Financial freedom was the most commonly cited reason for wanting to start a business, named by just over a quarter of respondents, while lack of money was the most commonly cited barrier at roughly one in five. Nearly half of those surveyed said they would not know where to access funding to get started, a gap that speaks directly to what the programme and its related grant scheme are trying to fix.

There is also a trust gap in how young people learn. Social media and YouTube are where nearly four in ten would turn for advice on starting a business, yet an actual entrepreneur is the most trusted source of guidance, rated ahead of the platforms by about a third of respondents. Schools are not filling the void either: a third said school or college prepared them for social media, more than three times the share who said it prepared them to register a business and handle the necessary paperwork. More practical routes into side hustles are clearly needed.

Eve Williams, general manager of eBay UK, said the company wants more young people "to have the practical experience and confidence" to make the most of new ways of working and selling. Jonathan Townsend, chief executive of The King's Trust, said the charity knows "how much potential can be unlocked" when young people get the right experiences and opportunities.

How to get involved before October 30, 2026

For readers who want in, two doors are open. Young people can register interest for eBay Self Made directly, with the first pilot cohort of 15 now being assembled. The programme is free to join and aimed at young people looking to turn selling, freelancing or a fledgling idea into a structured business.

Separately, eBay's 2026 Up and Running Grants are providing grants worth up to 200,000 pounds to young entrepreneurs and established eBay sellers who are creating jobs, apprenticeships or placements for young people. Applications are open until 5pm on October 30, 2026, making the next few weeks the window for anyone hoping to secure funding.

The timeline from here is straightforward: the programme was announced on October 6, 2026, the pilot kicks off with its two-week hands-on start, participants then receive at least six months of follow-on support on their individual pathways, and the scheme scales to more than 100 participants nationwide in 2027.

Whether eBay Self Made can shift the numbers remains to be seen. The hard reality is that almost one million young people are currently outside education, employment and training, and nearly half of the surveyed generation would not know where to find funding. A programme that teaches live selling and bookkeeping in equal measure at least starts with the right diagnosis: the appetite is there, the skills are not, and the gap between the two is where eBay Self Made intends to work.