60 years old Young Enterprise celebrated at Downing Street

Downing Street celebrated 60 years of Young Enterprise as the charity called for an applied approach to learning to help transform young people’s futures through enterprise and financial education. 

Two landmark events were held during Global Entrepreneurship Week which encourages potential entrepreneurs, especially young people, to start their own businesses.

Representatives from Young Enterprise, which specialises in Enterprise Education and Financial Education, were joined at the first event on Tuesday (14 November) by a small number of senior stakeholders from business, education and politics, united by a shared commitment to increase access to meaningful opportunities for young people. 

The roundtable event discussed the economic business case for the UK to advance the use of applied learning to increase young people’s preparedness for work and make a significant contribution to productivity and social mobility in the UK economy.

The charity then prepared a lesson for a group of 40 young people on November 17 attending from Greig City Academy in Haringey. Akshata Murty provided the opening remarks and met senior staff at Young Enterprise before joining the students to prepare their first ever business plan. 

The task was based around the 10X Challenge, where groups of 6-7 students engage in ideation activities to devise and pitch an enterprising idea to grow £10. For many children this represents their first opportunity to think about the challenges of starting a business.  

Sharon Davies, CEO of Young Enterprise, said: “We want to thank the government for celebrating our 60^th anniversary with us and allowing us to showcase the potential applied learning can have on the futures of young people. 

“The applied learning approach focuses on students applying their skills in real life settings and has been proven to have a direct correlation with increased student motivation, engagement and developing the necessary competencies to gain future employment.

“Financial education can make a significant contribution to financial freedom, help young people to develop responsible money habits, make informed career choices, navigate the complex financial landscape, and build resilience for the future. 

“In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever before that we provide young people with real-world learning opportunities to develop their confidence, mindset and critical skills, in which to learn to earn and manage their money.”