The purpose of the study was to analyse the perceptions that small business owner-managers held of graduates and graduate skills. The research focused on the tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors and used two methods, focus groups and a survey of firms in Surrey, UK. Firms employing less than 10 people dominated the study. The research highlighted some interesting results and perception gaps and this article will present these results. Micro-business owners, for example, believed that their businesses were not appropriate for graduate employment and that they could not utilize graduate skills. As firms grew, however, their readiness to recruit graduates increased and owner-managers who had professional qualifications were also more likely to recruit graduates. The study indicated that smaller firms placed greater emphasis on the ability of the graduates to ‘fit’ within the business and findings suggested that SMEs expected graduates to be able to perform and contribute immediately. The results of the study are drawn out in this article because they impact on the way students are developed in Higher Education.