Young entrepreneurs get off to a ‘QuickStart’

The Young Enterprise QuickStart programme is giving young people the opportunity to experience the growing culture of entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.

Young Enterprise is a charity working to empower young people with the entrepreneurship skills they’ll need to lead Northern Ireland’s future economy. Working together with private sector supporters and the Department of Education, the charity’s entrepreneurship programmes are giving young people the opportunity to explore and develop their skills for life and work.

One supporter, Ulster Bank, has partnered with the charity’s QuickStart programme for the past five years. During this time the bank has helped to bring this hands-on programme to 4,800 13-15 year old students giving them the chance to start a business with their classmates at schools and community hubs across Northern Ireland with the help of local volunteer business mentors.

The QuickStart programme is one part of a progressive suite of entrepreneurship programmes developed by Young Enterprise. It allows young people to start and run their own business over the course of 12-14 weeks, providing them with opportunities to trade at special Young Enterprise sales events at shopping centres, pitch their companies to business experts at ‘Dragons’ Den’ style events and get creative by making a final video presentations of their experience at the Young Enterprise QuickPitch Challenge.

The businesses created by students through the QuickStart programme have developed a range of products including mobile apps, games, clothing, gifts and jewellery. The experience allows young people to develop real life experience in sales, marketing, social media management, finance and budget planning and the opportunity to present to a wide range of audiences.

Young Enterprise Chief Executive, Carol Fitzsimons elaborated: “By pairing business volunteers with local schools, we forge strong relationships between classrooms and boardrooms, giving young people the chance to work directly with mentors from outside the school environment.

“This collaborative working provides strong role models to young people, raising their aspirations while helping them to discover their strengths and put them to use in a real business setting. The experience supports the Northern Ireland Curriculum, while offering a fresh ‘learning by doing’ mode of learning that is not traditionally employed in the classroom.”

One supporter of the charity is BBC Apprentice finalist and Young Enterprise ambassador Jim Eastwood. He attended the final QuickPitch Challenge event hosted by Ulster Bank and discovered the benefits that this programme brings to young people.

He commented: “These students are an excellent example of the outstanding entrepreneurial flair that exists in so many of our young people in Northern Ireland and should be congratulated for their commitment, hard work and innovation in starting their respective businesses.
“Young people in Northern Ireland are so lucky to have the support of a charity like Young Enterprise that, year in year out, brings so many fantastic opportunities their way – inspiring them to become enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to go out and succeed in the world of business.”

Colin Jess, Senior Manager at Ulster Bank, judged the QuickPitch Challenge video presentations. He explained why Ulster Bank is such a passionate supporter of Young Enterprise. He said: “As a bank, we’ve been really pleased to support Young Enterprise and the Quickstart Programme for a fifth year. It’s an excellent opportunity for us to help young people understand how business works and encourage entrepreneurship. The energy and enthusiasm of all the participants is infectious and it is great to see such quality presentations from all of the finalists.”

The QuickStart Programme is one part of the Young Enterprise aim to bring practical entrepreneurship education to every young person in Northern Ireland. The charity currently reaches around 100,000 young people each year, roughly one third of the school population starting with Primary School pupils as young as just 4-5 years old.

With additional support, Young Enterprise hopes to be able to bring an entrepreneurial skills experience to all young people in Northern Ireland, supporting a new generation of entrepreneurial thinkers and doers.

To get involved with Young Enterprise, simply visit yeni.co.uk or contact Carol Fitzsimons, Chief Executive at
028 9032 7003 or email carol.fitzsimons@yeni.co.uk