Enterprising Youngsters Visit Steelpark

03 Apr 2009

But this was no ordinary pitch for business, the companies were all formed and run by schoolchildren aged from 14 to 18 from across the three boroughs as part of the 2009 Young Enterprise company programme.

The event, sponsored by Corus, culminated in a presentation evening with the pupils given five minute each to make their pitch for the coveted title of ‘Best Company’.

A special award for innovation was sponsored by Corus and judged and awarded by Andrew Beedles from Corus Automotive.  “Picking a winner was really difficult, the imagination and confidence shown by all the young people was awe inspiring.  I certainly could not have done that when I was there age,” he said.

Each of the companies were expected to raise their own capital, create and market their own products and produce company reports and accounts.  They were judged on the standard of the their reporting, their performance in a gruelling interview session with three independent judges as well as making a formal presentation to the 85 people present at the awards evening.

“The standard of entries were excellent,” said Jane Hounsome, HR Director.  “It was very interesting to see that even at the level their companies were operating they were struggling with similar problems that we encounter in our business.

“We are delighted to continue our support for the Young Enterprise project, and are already looking forward to the Black Country regional finals, and seeing how our companies perform at the Wet Midlands final later this year,” she added.