'Don't help your children find a job': Government's new social mobility tsar James Caan says children must stand on their own two feet Children should not have help from their parents when it comes to finding a job, according to entrepreneur and former Dragons' Den star James Caan. The Pakistani-British businessman, who is expected to be unveiled as the government's new social mobility tsar by Nick Clegg tomorrow, said that, rather than stepping in and using any influence they may have to help sons and daughters find their way in the world, parents should allow their children at least a year to try to find work unaided. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Caan said that it was important for parents to "let the child stand on his own two feet," adding they should only step in after "the child has tried everything" and still not found a job. He went on to speak out against young people taking unpaid internships, which he says limit social mobility, and condemned parents that help arrange to work experience at top companies for their children. "You are trying to develop your child too; you don't want them to feel as though they don't have to make the effort," he said. Mr Caan said that his not having been to private school made him work harder to prove himself and to gain opportunities. He said: "People from deprived backgrounds can be massively impactful on business - they have more to prove, they are more driven, more determined. In my own experience it was not easy, you always have to do that bit extra to stand out. You are hiring somebody to whom that opportunity is more valuable. Mr Caan said companies have to do more to attract people from poorer backgrounds, and said he wanted to make firms "more aware of their obligations and social responsibilities" and to break the cycle of getting a good job being dependent on "people you know, or... the school that you went to or how you got in." The former Dragon Den's panellist said he wanted companies to develop specific policies for paid work experience, saying it created "good discipline" on both sides. He said: "We are trying to create some awareness to make people understand the implications of some of their actions and the decisions they make." Mr Caan is expected to be unveiled as social mobility tsar by the Deputy Prime Minister tomorrow, as part of the Coalition's Open Doors programme - an initiative to persuade firms to run open and fair recruitment. On the appointment, Nick Clegg said: "I'm thrilled James Caan is joining our campaign to make sure every young person has a fair chance to get the job that makes the best of their skills and talents. This is about putting an end to outdated and lazy recruitment where only young people with the right connections get a foot in the door... Wasting young talent is a tragedy that has huge economic implications for the country and I want to see more companies work towards making their recruitment process fairer. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Mr Caan said: "I fully understand that parents would want to do the best for their children. But one of the things that I notice is that I don't think it's good to create a society where people get jobs based on who you know rather than what you can do. I think allowing children the opportunity to develop and find their own way through life is very good for society and very good for the kids. Not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to be as well connected and therefore to make it a slightly more fair society is something we should encourage. He added: "What I have found myself is when you take people on (who are) not from privileged backgrounds they tend to be more driven, they are more motivated, they have more to prove and generally can be an asset to an organisation."