Leading enterprise and financial education charity, Young Enterprise, is providing access to its flagship entrepreneurial experiences, Company and Team Programme, for young people across the Caerphilly County Borough.
Support from CCBC and national funds are enabling schools across the county borough to register for the programme at no cost.
In the 2024/25 academic year, teams from the following schools will be taking up the funded Young Enterprise programme places:
- St Martins Comprehensive School
- Lewis School Pengam
- St. Cenydd Community School
Funding remains to enable a further team of young people to benefit from the Young Enterprise Company or Team Programme experience in 2024/25. If you are interested to know more or to register your school to take part, please contact Bethany George at [email protected] or Antony Bolter at [email protected] or phone 07766 162570.
Recently, the Young Enterprise local volunteer team were delighted by the success of a local team from Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Penweddig in Aberystwyth. Their Company Programme business Llanw (Tide) created a bilingual cookbook Sbarion – Datrysiad i Wastraff (Leftovers – A Solution to Waste), with recipes to make good use of leftover food.
Not only did the team, comprising students from Years 10 and 12, win the Welsh Company Programme Final, they were also awarded winners of the Young Enterprise UK Final. This achievement enabled the team to compete at the Gen-E 2024 European Entrepreneurship Festival, organised by Junior Achievement worldwide and held this year in Sicily. At this prestigious event, the Managing Director of the Llanw business, Nela Dafydd, picked up an Alumni leadership award, one of only five competitors to achieve this recognition.
Locally, St Cenydd, Lewis Pengam and Blackwood Schools participated in 2023-24 and their students performed commendably at the South East Wales Final on 15th April. Unfortunately, neither school progressed to the Wales Final, but they did collect awards as follows:
- St Cenydd – Best Company Presentation and Award for Creativity
- Blackwood – Best Use of Technology
Company Programme offers an opportunity over a period of at least 12 weeks for young people to set up and run a real-life trading company, supported by a Business Advisor or teacher. The pupils make all the decisions, from naming the company, managing its finances and selling to the public. Those taking part receive practical business experience and key skills for the world of work. The company then gets to compete by preparing a comprehensive business plan, being interviewed by a panel of judges and delivering a presentation.
Team Programme offers the same opportunity for learners with mild to moderate learning difficulties, so is often taken up by schools for students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
