Back to school for mentors
By Andy Pearson
It’s always good to reaffirm that school’s not just about piling up as many A* grades as possible.
For the record, I had none. They may not even have been invented when 1981’s Holmfirth High School O-level entrants sat down with nervous giggles.
But the Swansea Bay Business Dragons 2011 competition will give teenagers across Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot a valuable look into the life of work.
Mentor
That’s why I’ve signed up as a business mentor to one of the teams – Port Talbot’s Dyffryn School, to be precise.
I’ve not met the team yet, indeed the school itself has still to choose a group to be its representatives. But once we get together, I look forward to sharing some great creative energy.
The competition is challenging teams of year nine students from secondary schools across the region to create and develop a business idea around the theme of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Registered
More than 30 schools have registered to take part and the competition will take place over the next six months.
Teams will compete in an inter-school round, an area semi-final and a regional final.
Businesses such as Effective Communication will be brought in to mentor and work with the teams to help them develop their business ideas and marketing plans.
Final
The competition will end with a Dragons Den-style final in November when shortlisted teams will pitch their business ideas to a judging panel of business experts.
The winning team will scoop £1,000 and the title of Swansea Bay Business Dragons 2011.
The competition is being organised by the Swansea Bay Partnership in association with Careers Wales West.
Eager
I urge other businesses to get involved; it’s a great chance to give some useful prfessional input into the educational lives of some eager young people.
To find out more, click here.
Tags: Cardiff, Careers Wales West, Dyffryn School, PR, PR agency, Swansea, Swansea Bay Business Dragons, Swansea Bay Partnership, Wales
