At a ceremony presided over by Wendy Alexander, Lifelong Learning Minister, Mr Emanuel helped launch the latest drive to embed enterprising attitudes in the culture of schools.

An Enterprise Insight Scotland campaign, led by employers’ organisations as part of a UK initiative, will attempt to raise the profile of enterprise education at 12 showcase events. The first was last week in Hamilton, involving pupils from 26 primary schools.

Mr Emanuel, now chairman of the Scots-based Interactive Telecom Solutions, said: “I have met a lot of successful people during my career and almost all of them were entrepreneurs as kids.

“They may have bought up a collection of paper rounds or called on neighbours to wash their car. What linked them was a desire to do something for themselves rather than wait to see what hand fate dealt them.”