Business community supports student entrepreneurs

8 February 2011

The real life challenges of business are valuable lessons for our young people. On Friday (11 Feb) over 250 budding student entrepreneurs from Christchurch will take the first step towards starting their own enterprises.

Under the umbrella of the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES), the year 12 and 13 students will begin a real life business journey. It starts on Friday with the E-Day - a full day of guidance, training and mentoring from a panel of Christchurch business people.

The Enterprise New Zealand Trust programmes is delivered in Canterbury by CORE Education and Regional Coordinator, Juanita Reddish has been overwhelmed at the response from the local business community.

“We have record numbers of experienced business people giving their time to help advise and mentor the students. Our local business community has been through tough times lately with a recession, then the earthquake but, if anything it has strengthened their commitment to helping to grow the next generation of business leaders.”

During the E-Day, sponsored by the University of Canterbury, the students will be encouraged to brainstorm business ideas and concepts under the guidance of the national YES management team. After narrowing the ideas down, each four person team spends 15 minutes with a business person to further refine the concept for the real world.

Once the students have a business plan, they work throughout the year with a volunteer business mentor who helps them implement the strategies they have documented. The programme will teach them financial management, leadership, marketing and sales, communications, human resources and production. They are coached and mentored by local business people volunteering their time.

Students invest real money, produce real products, pay real taxes and keep the real profits. Fundamentally, this scheme allows students to run a real business within the safe environment of support and formal structure. For students, YES is a great opportunity to realise their uniqueness, develop their strengths, work together as a team and possibly make a profit at the same time. Like any other team event, YES is about working towards goals and taking all the steps necessary to achieve them.

In addition, the business plans and presentations by the student entrepreneurs are entered into a national competition. Last year Canterbury teams did exceptionally well with three groups of students taking four major prizes. Oceanic Fusion from St Thomas of Canterbury College were the National overall winner and recipients of the Pacifica award. Fernza, the Rangi Ruru Girls team took the National Sales and Marketing award. They are now a registered a company with the profits from their Kiwi Pavlova chocolate supporting the girls through University. My Security, from Boys High School won the National Service award.

ENDS

© Scoop Media