Member Article

UK first puts enterprising kids in the driving seat

A specialist business college in the North East has become the first school in the UK to set up a company dedicated to converting youth enterprise projects into established trading ventures.

Northumberland-based St. Benet Biscop Business and Enterprise College has officially launched ‘Benet Enterprises’, which they believe will present school leavers with opportunities that did not previously exist.

Benet Enterprises is offering school pupils the chance to gain paid work experience across a range of event-based activities the company will be involved in.

Nick Bowen, St Benet Biscop head teacher, said: “Tremendous effort and money is invested in firing up youngsters to get them excited about creating their own business ideas. However, once an event or activity ends nothing is done to capture those ideas and to see how viable they are.”

Benet Enterprises will re-invest any profits back in to the company, working alongside this year’s crop of budding entrepreneurs to identify which ideas have the potential to be a success.

Six pupils are currently working for Benet Enterprises on a variety of projects. The organisation offers a range of services to the Northumberland business community ranging from event management, film production, conference facilities, a business learning centre and enterprise training.

This month, it has worked with the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI)-funded Go Wansbeck project and Northumberland Strategic Partnership to give nearly 1,000 pupils in one of the country’s most economically deprived areas the chance to visit local companies to see at first hand how they operate.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .