- Auditel Consultant:
- Carl Windsor
Youngsters get a taste of business
05 Oct 2009 | Filed under: BusinessSTUDENTS across North Lincolnshire will get to experience running a business as part of the Young Enterprise scheme.
The programme allows youngsters to set up their own real companies for a year and market a product, under the watchful eye of industry experts.
Teams from John Leggott College, North Lindsey College, St Lawrence Academy and Brigg Sixth Form will take part in the project this year.
The annual start-up meeting for business advisers and link teachers involved in the company programme was held on Thursday, at the Corus Conference Centre, in Scunthorpe.
Partner in Scunthorpe-based RNS Chartered Accountants, John Heeney, is supporting this year’s project as a business adviser to the St Lawrence Academy team.
He said: “It is a case of trying to give a little bit back to the local community and also, to expose the students to some of the realities of commerce and business life.
“We have had a couple of meetings so far and the students’ energy is prolific and it has been a case of drawing them back a little bit to do things with a certain structure or in the right order.
“Their company is called Platinum and their business idea is the supply of USB wristbands.
“They have already done some networking to potential customers so everything is going in the right direction.”
Carl Windsor, of Brigg-based Auditel, got on board as a business adviser but was yet to be allocated a team.
He said: “We recognise that we want to give something back and we recognise that we have all this business experience.
“Part of it is giving them a bigger opportunity than we were privy to.
“You think how it would have been if people like us were there when we were 15 or 16, what would we have done differently?
“Young Enterprise is a fantastic organisation, doing a lot of things to teach people about business.”
St Lawrence Academy lead on enterprise, Susanna Davie, said: “This will be the third company I have seen and it is still as exciting as ever.
“I see a change in the children when they participate in the project and the fact that they come back as mentors for the next year shows me that it has inspired them.
“They learn key skills I don’t think they develop in any other area.
“They develop life skills and they can get a qualification that is a progression towards a GCSE or start their own business, if they want.”
Young Enterprise development manager Stella Onyett said the scheme brought great benefits for youngsters.
She said: “The things they can gain are skills for life.
“It is not just about running a business, it is about developing the right attitude, taking initiative and doing something they wouldn’t normally have the chance to do within their curriculum.”
See full article here:
http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/corus/Youngsters-taste-business/article-1390306-detail/article.html
