Young entrepreneurs

As one of the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence, enterprise is a vital skill for the  nation’s youth. Jackie Cosh finds out more. 

The recently-published Determined to Succeed Three Years On… report paints a very positive picture of enterprise in Scottish schools. It tells of how there are now over 7,000 school business partnerships across the country, far exceeding the original target of 2,000, and reveals that more than 20,000 teachers have been trained in enterprise in education. Furthermore, the Determined to Succeed strategy is now recognised as a world leader in enterprise education, with positive recognition for its approach across Europe, the United States and Australia.

At Kirkcaldy High School in Fife, enterprise is central to the school ethos, with each year group being given an enterprise experience. Yvonne Nelson teaches business education at the school and runs an enterprise course for the S1 students. 'The emphasis in the course is on a can-do attitude' says Yvonne. 'We cover team building, encourage pupils to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and look at how they can improve over the duration of the course. The idea is that this will have an impact on the rest of the curriculum as students develop confidence and a more positive self-image.'

All students are expected to join a committee so that they take an active role in decision-making. This may involve organising events such as last year’s S6 conference at the Adam Smith College. Alongside the events management students at the college, the S6 pupils organised a day to help prepare them for life after school. Yvonne explains: 'They wanted to look at the practical aspects of starting college, and invited along various speakers – one was an ex student who spoke about life at university and afterwards, another was a housing officer who explained about being housed. Money handling and careers opportunities were looked at, as well as practical issues such as first aid.'

Can do, will do

For Yvonne as a teacher, experiences such as these can have a vast impact on attitudes in the classroom, bringing to life what she teaches. 'When we take pupils to the Stockmarket Challenge in Dundee they come back really excited and determined that this is what they want to do. It opens up their eyes to the world of work and the exciting challenges that could be open to them. It gives them something to aim for.'

The emphasis is on having the will to succeed, and on encouraging the children to believe in themselves. As Yvonne says: 'Enterprise is much more than running a business, it is also about fostering a positive attitude in children'.

Eric Burton is National Development Officer in Support for Enterprise in Education at Learning and Teaching Scotland. He agrees with Yvonne. 'Scotland’s economic future depends on young people with positive attitudes and good core skills, who understand about business and entrepreneurship and are eager to benefit from lifelong learning. It depends on young people who know how to take sensible risks in business and learn to see failure as a platform for future success.'

The Determined to Succeed strategy has been described as the future of the country. 'Across Scotland it is generating a new-found energy, enthusiasm and creativity with pupils and teachers across all range of abilities,' says Eric. 'Determined to Succeed is fundamental in sparking entrepreneurial ambition in our young people. For Scotland to realise its potential, we need a population ready and able to meet the challenges of a global 21st century. We need young people who are confident, flexible, prepared to take calculated risks, have a ‘can do, will do’ attitude, and who want to make their ideas happen.'

Creating a keepsake

One group of students who are keen to make their ideas happen is the Enterprise Through Music pupils at St Augustine’s R.C. High School in Edinburgh. Here, the pupils have set up a website www.pebblesounds.com in order to market their product – a compilation CD of music by local Edinburgh and Lothians bands. Their target market is final year pupils and first year college/university students, and it will be launched at a gig in Edinburgh in March. The students have identified a unique selling point in that the CD will be a keepsake of the sounds around at the time.

Teacher Archie Gibb takes the Enterprise Through Music class, which is supported by Stowe College in Glasgow. 'I came up with the idea but the pupils have really taken it on as their own,' he says. 'They see it as really big and want a CD to be released every year.' Pebblesounds is run like any other business, with formal meetings held, minutes taken and a bank account balanced. Plans have also been made for an Ebay shop. A chairperson delegates tasks, allowing for various skills to be utilised.

Archie says that, as well as enjoyment and a sense of achievement, there are a number of long term benefits for the pupils. 'The course will be certificated at Intermediate Level by the SQA but it also fits into the Curriculum for Excellence.

'I hope that at the end of the year, if it is a success it will be something they can put down on their personal statement before going to university. They can tell future employers about how they achieved success as part of a team.'

Future-proof

Employers across the public, private and voluntary sectors are involved in Determined to Succeed, realising the clear benefits of engaging with education and showing their commitment to developing enterprising young people. As Eric says: 'Enterprise in education will not only help create the business men and women of tomorrow, it will also help today’s employers to enjoy a share of that success both now and in the future.'

Schools have a crucial role to play in preparing young people for life and work in the 21st century, says Eric. 'The rapid pace of change through, for example, advances in technology and the development of global trade, means the world the pupils will inhabit is difficult to predict. Through enterprise, schools are therefore developing skills and qualities that will equip their pupils with skills for jobs which do not yet exist.'