enterprise

A team of enterprising Creative Media students from Gower College Swansea has impressed the judges in the first round of the Lloyds TSB Money for Life Challenge, a competition designed to inspire better money management skills.

Team Chop Chop – otherwise known as students Kayleigh Rochard, Rebekah Hernandez-Rees, Tesni Bowbanks and Zoe Jagoe-Williams – have been named runners up and will meet 11 other teams at Cardiff City Stadium on 23 April, where they will showcase their Money for Life Challenge project.

The Gower College Swansea team was one of 250 projects in the UK to receive a £500 grant in December. The team has since put their project into action as money saving experts by creating a website that includes articles and tutorial videos for a student’s guide to university.

As runners up, they are invited to present their project in the showcase alongside five finalists, after which the audience will have the opportunity to vote for a People’s Prize winner. Two representatives from this team will also be invited to London to compete for the People’s Prize, where they could win £1500 for a charity of their choice and £100 in shopping vouchers.

“As a group we've learned to develop and progress our own idea to help students save money when it comes to buying food,” explains Kayleigh. “The whole experience has been very enjoyable working together - developing our cooking skills and sharing these recipes, which are tasty and affordable, for students.  We are now looking forward to going to Cardiff and showcasing our idea to the public. We're all so glad to have had the opportunity to take part in this competition and hope to continue to help even more young people enjoy and cook tasty meals on a budget.”

“Taking part in this project has enabled the students to gain those all important enterprise skills in managing a project, teamwork and innovation,” says Lucy Turtle, the college’s Enterprise Officer. “Team Chop Chop have been fantastic ambassadors for Gower College Swansea and here’s hoping we have a good chance of winning the People’s Prize in Wales final on 23rd April.”

Sarah Porretta, Head of the Money for Life Programme at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “The Money for Life Challenge is a brilliant opportunity for young people to tackle money management issues head-on and devise projects to help improve financial awareness for their family, friends and local communities. Gower College Swansea should be so proud of what they have achieved with their project and we look forward to seeing them at the Wales final of the Money for Life Challenge.”

Money for Life Challenge is part of the Money for Life programme, a unique partnership between Lloyds Banking Group and further education sector partners in the four nations of the UK, including Colleges Wales and the National Training Federation for Wales.

The competition aims to find the most successful and innovative ways to improve the money management skills of learners, their friends, families and communities. Team members are between 16 and 24 years old and in further education, work based learning or adult community learning.

The Wales shortlisted finalists are: Grow and Save from ITEC Training Solutions, a community based project that aims to encourage people to grow their own fruit, vegetables and herbs to help them save money; Sk8 Swap Shop from Carmarthen Youth Project, which aims to promote money management through a swap shop, inviting members of the community to their event to swap their stuff; Rampart Rebels from Employment Training Centre in Swansea, a project that aims to inform the public about loan sharks in Swansea; Swimming with the Sharks from Neath Port Talbot College, raising awareness of the dangers of lending money from loan sharks and providing information on alternative ways to borrow money; and Quit and Sav£ from Caerphilly, raising awareness on the financial benefits of giving up smoking.

For more information on the Money for Life Challenge, please go to www.moneyforlifechallenge.org.uk or join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/moneyforlifeuk and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/moneyforlifeuk

Pictured L-R are: Rebekah, Tesni, Kayleigh and Zoe

Last year’s Money for Life winning team in Wales have been invited back to judge England’s final in London.

James Cookson, a Gower College Swansea IT student from the Tycoch campus, was the driving force behind the 2012 project, called The Money Maze.

A video game designed and produced to teach youngsters the importance of money management from an early age, The Money Maze was the team's first step towards creating a suite of games aimed at the education sector.

The national final will take place in London on Thursday 18 April.

“I am truly honored to be given this amazing opportunity to judge at this prestigious competition,” says James. "It will be an incredible experience."

Photo: Students James Cookson and Abu Kwider Amgad with TV presenter Ellie Crisell.

A group of A Level Business and Economics students from Gower College Swansea are celebrating after being named runners-up at the Global Entrepreneurship Challenge 2013 finals in Cardiff.

Competing against students from 20 colleges across Wales, Zoe Jagoe-Williams, Abigail Jeffreys, Jordan Allan, Jordan Brace, Bryony Hopkins, Jack Govier and Megan Prince - who are all studying at the Gorseinon campus – had 24 hours to develop a business idea, detailed business plan and cash flow proposal before they returned the following day to present their final proposition to a panel of experts.

“Our task was to develop a product or service that can help those experiencing poverty and create jobs for young people,” explains Abigail. “Our idea was to develop a catering facility called ‘The Food Lab,’ which takes a contemporary approach to innovative cooking. This helps young unemployed people to develop skills, not only in cooking, but also in communication and teamwork. This was a great experience which helped to improve my own skills in public speaking, which will be extremely useful for me in the future. Getting through to the final and placing runner up was very rewarding.”

“The team submitted a very thorough business plan based on a unique and innovative idea,” adds Enterprise Officer Lucy Turtle. “They had been mentored at college by a range of Dynamo role models, who worked with them to develop their presentation skills and strategies for overcoming nerves. I’m so proud of them and hope this opportunity will help them in their future careers."

The Global Enterprise Challenge is a Welsh Government endorsed scheme designed to encourage entrepreneurial spirit and vision among young people.

Photo shows Kanya King MBE, founder of the MOBO Awards, presenting the students with their award.

A group of A Level Business and Economics students are heading to Cardiff to represent Gower College Swansea at the Global Entrepreneurship Challenge 2013 final.

The Global Enterprise Challenge is a Welsh Government endorsed scheme designed to encourage entrepreneurial spirit and vision among young people. 

Once they reach Cardiff, the students – Zoe Jagoe-Williams, Abigail Jeffreys, Jordan Allan, Jordan Brace, Bryony Hopkins, Jack Govier and Megan Prince, who are all studying at the Gorseinon campus – will have 24 hours to develop a business idea, detailed business plan and cash flow proposal before they return the following day to present their final proposition to a panel of experts.

In preparation for this event, they have been working closely with the college’s Enterprise Officer Lucy Turtle and local entrepreneur Ben Harrison. Ben, a student at Swansea University, is a founder of Mango Bikes and also won TV’s ‘Be Your Own Boss’ competition in 2012. He has been giving the group tips on marketing, business acumen and presentation skills.

“This is a really smart, switched-on group and they presented very well at the college finals at Tycoch,” says Ben. “They think about the right things and understand what business is all about, even without much hands-on business experience, which is very impressive. They are really driven and mature and clearly have the ability to go on to run businesses in the future, so I’m really excited to see how they perform in Cardiff.”

Notes:

The Global Enterprise Final 2013 takes place on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th March.

Pictured (l-r) are: Abigail Jeffreys; Zoe Jagoe-Williams; Jordan Allan; Jack Govier; Megan Prince and Bryony Hopkins.

Gower College Swansea has appointed four brand new Enterprise Interns for the academic year. They are:

Gorseinon campus
Abigail Jeffreys and Zoe Jagoe-Williams

Tycoch campus
Paul Carter and Naomi Smythe

The interns will work closely with Lucy Turtle in Enterprise to organise / support events and activities in the college.

Photos by Geraint Rhys Vaughan, BTEC Diploma in Entrepreneurship.

Gower College Swansea lecturer Sue Poole has been recognised at the 2012 Women in Business Awards, held in association with PwC.

Sue, who is the college’s Enterprise Education Manager, scooped the ‘Business Mentor of the Year’ award for her work in inspiring entrepreneurial spirit in young people.

Working to develop enterprise skills among students in the Swansea Bay area, from primary school pupils to college and university students, Sue was a key player in the setting up of the Young Chamber of Commerce, working in partnership with the West Wales Chamber of Commerce.

“Winning this award is a massive honour as well as a huge surprise as the competition was extremely tough,” says Sue. “I’m very proud of the work we’ve created and the achievements we’ve celebrated in recent years and I look forward to further developing the talents of our young people, especially with the upcoming launch of the Entrepreneurship Academy Wales.”

Sue has been a driving force in the setting up of the Academy, which is the first of its kind in Wales. A one year course based at the Innovation Foundry in Swansea, it is endorsed by local entrepreneur and ‘Secret Millionaire’ Kevin Green, with further sponsorship support from Euros Jones-Evans (Telesgop), Admiral Insurance, Clive Murphy (Trojan Electronics), Andrew Downie (Netbop) and Dave Kieft (RDM Electrical.)

The first students have signed up for a new, fast track course that will set them on the path to business greatness.

The Entrepreneurship Academy Wales is the first of its kind in Wales and is being endorsed by local entrepreneur and ‘Secret Millionaire’ Kevin Green, with further sponsorship support from Euros Jones-Evans at Telesgop, and Admiral Insurance.

The free, one year programme will lead to a BTEC qualification in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and is open to aspiring young business leaders aged between 16 and 19.

Delivered from the Innovation Foundry at the Dylan Thomas Centre, the Academy promotes a philosophy of ‘learning by doing’ that sees students working alongside successful entrepreneurs who will deliver part of the curriculum, completing workshops and masterclasses. The students will also undertake an internship with our business partners and ultimately start their own businesses.

The first four students to enrol are Joshua Dykes from Pontardawe, Geraint Vaughan and Jade Jones from Pontarddulais and Marissa Bartle from Llangennech.

Although they have very different business models in mind, from event management and photography to art and property development, all four agree on one thing - that this is an exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity.

“It’s a great feeling to be among the first students to sign up for the new Academy as there are only 16 places available in total,” says Joshua. “Having the support and guidance of Kevin Green and the other partners is an amazing opportunity for us and we can’t wait to get started.”

“I personally would have benefitted from an initiative like this when I was in school,” adds Kevin. “With a lot of hard work and passion, these students will go on to become the business leaders of tomorrow and I’m very proud to be involved and to be able to lend my support from the earliest stages of the process.”

“Today is the realisation of a dream that has been three years in the making,” says Sue Poole, Education Enterprise Manager at Gower College Swansea, which is delivering the Academy. “We are passionate about inspiring the next generation of young entrepreneurs from across Wales and are delighted to work alongside our partners to develop the talents of these exceptional young people.”

The Academy also has the backing of Cllr Mike Day and Cllr Mitchell Theaker, who both spoke of the importance of encouraging the development of skills, initiative and drive in young people.

The Academy will be officially launched in the presence of Edwina Hart AM on 8 October at the Innovation Foundry at the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea.

Anyone interested in enrolling on the Entrepreneurship Academy Wales or becoming a sponsor should contact Sue Poole on 01792 284000 or email sue.poole@gowercollegeswansea.ac.uk

ENDS

Related links:
www.entrepreneurshipacademywales.co.uk

Photo A Frame Photography

Students from Young Enterprise Level 1 at the Gorseinon campus recently took part in a competition at Pontyberem with other colleges.

The task was to set up a business and trade goods and the students had to carry out market research, investigate selling to the public and keep their all important finances in check.

Josh Mitchell won an individual award for Best Achiever. To reward the students for all their hard work, a celebratory lunch was organised by Enterprise Education Manager Sue Poole and Dean of Faculty Nick Brazil presented certificates (pictured.)

“The students worked extremely hard to set up their business and have already have made a substantial amount of profit from selling their goods in the college,” says Sue. “They all showed great entrepreneurial skills and determination to succeed.”