Students from across the district wowed judges at the recent Young Enterprise Trade Fair designed to give budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to build their confidence communication and business skills by selling directly to the public. School children from across the north took part in the event with a number of pupils from Newry and Mourne catching the public’s imagination. Aoife McParland, Eimear Woods and Aoife McEleavy from St Joseph’s High School Crossmaglen along with Matthew Geary from Newtownhamilton High School were lauded for their work on the eye-catching company Bitz n’ bobz. Meanwhile Ryan Higgins from Markethill High School was named the Outstanding Individual of the event thanks to his company, Aspire. ‘Jedi’ Jim Eastwood star of BBC’s The Apprentice and Enterprise Ambassador for Young Enterprise Northern Ireland also attended the trade fair to encourage sales and marketing students. He said he felt it was important to encourage young business minds. “It is great to be involved with Young Enterprise as their ambassador and to be able to work with our future entrepreneurs,” he said. “I would have had an opportunity to take part in something like this when I was at school and it is obvious how much the students gain from the practical experience.” Education Minister John O’Dowd also attended the event. He said it gave students a real taste of the business world. “From coming up with an initial idea, developing a business plan, allocating responsibilities and then manufacturing and selling products, this could be the spark that identifies our future entrepreneurs,” he said. “My Department has been supporting Young Enterprise NI for a number of years to deliver programmes to primary and post-primary schools. I believe that a well rounded education should be about more than examination results; it is about preparing young people for the future. I therefore welcome the fact that the Young Enterprise programmes in our schools offer the opportunity for young people to gain new experiences and start to learn about the world of business. By better preparing our school leavers with the skills needed by business we will help drive the economy in a positive direction as outlined in the Programme for Government.”
Newry Democrat
28th February 2012
“