Young Enterprise 2008/09

Term started last week at Stourbridge College and I met the team I am to be mentoring through the Young Enterprise programme this year.

The first thing they have to do is raise £80.00 to subscribe to the programme. Richard came up with the idea of car washing which seems a good one. They will produce some posters and leaflets advertising their service to staff at £3.00 a wash. It's a good deal and they should have no problem getting 27 cars to wash out of a massive car park that is full every day.

They are keen on making T shirts. Its an OK idea, Young Enterprise is full of companies that make T shirts, but if they can get a niche, a style that really cuts through it will work. It is an idea that will either sell or bomb, which is fairly high risk. But if it sells, provided they control the costs it should do well.

I pressed them on what they thought they could charge per T shirt. I was surprised at the high estimates and reminded them just how cheap T shirts were in Primark. I then asked them how much they paid for T shirts and the figure was a third lower than the price they were aiming for. First lesson.

The group of five boys have mixed levels of motivation but hopefully the teacher and I have enough interest and creativity to build on. They want to go to university I'm told and the Young Enterprise experience will help their co if they do well. I'll use my time with them to help them win and encourage them to go to a university that is worth going to. They also want to beat King Ed's and I was delighted to find some competitive spirit. That bodes well.

There are so many institutions called universities that are so keen to get bums on seats that provided students have minimum grades they can walk in. No need for an impressive CV. I hope these guys will aim higher than this. I was disappointed that there were no girls and made a mental note to investigate what programmes are in place to encourage girls into non traditional areas of work.

I am looking forward to working with Lisa Dickinson who worked to bring Young Enterprise to the College, its first year with the programme, and loves business. The students will get together for meetings once a week and I aim to be with them for most of their sessions.

Photo:Margot and Paula Dowdeswell, Head of Vocational Studies at the College.