Partner Article

Burnside heads enterprise charge

A new initiative aimed at making schoolchildren more commercially aware and ready for the workplace has been launched on Tyne & Wear. Young Chamber aims to link youngsters with their local business community to get enterprise and education working more closely together.

Fifty-one schools nationwide are taking part in Young Chamber which sees them partner with their local Chamber of Commerce to help them get a greater understanding of industry. An estimated 75,000 youngsters across England are expected to take part in the scheme.

Burnside Business & Enterprise College in Wallsend is one of three schools in the North East that successfully bid to form their own Young Chamber council. The school has a share of £51,000 being invested in this region to establish the Young Chamber. It is partnered with the North East Chamber of Commerce, the UK’s only regional chamber.

Young Chamber creates a structure and framework that gives students a ‘voice’ on issues that affect their local economic environment. By establishing a Young Chamber in their school and with support from teachers and NECC, the Burnside students will create further links with local businesses. Activities will include employers setting problem solving challenges, mentoring and providing students with interview tips immersing them further in the world of business and enterprise.

Julia Cantwell, North Tyneside Education Business Partnership development officer, said: “There is an opportunity here for businesses who haven’t been involved in schools before to get involved. The strength of Young Chamber is that the students take the initiative and responsibility for running the programme.”

All Saints College in Newcastle and Castle View School in Hylton Castle, Sunderland were also selected to be Young Chamber schools. The initiative will be launched in their schools shortly.

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