Culture, geography or economics should never be a barrier to success. By Jonathan Freeman, Managing Director, Mosaic.
That’s why at Mosaic, the mentoring initiative that’s part of The Prince’s Trust, we’ve just re-launched the 2017 edition of the Enterprise Challenge.
A national competition held annually with the generous support of the Apax Foundation and Qatar Charity UK, the Enterprise Challenge aims to encourage entrepreneurship amongst young people from some of the most deprived communities across England and Scotland.
The Government has been very clear in recognising the difference mentoring can make in promoting social mobility.
The Careers & Enterprise Company also recently published a report detailing the positive outcomes for young people associated with employer mentoring, which they say include “improvements in behaviour, engagement, attainment and progression.”
It’s these outcomes that Mosaic’s Enterprise Challenge is designed to encourage. Through the initiative, secondary school students learn about establishing and running a business by playing a business simulation game.
But what makes the competition unique, is that students benefit from being mentored by experienced business professionals who pass on their knowledge and skills about various aspects of entrepreneurship. With the support of their mentors, the teams develop their own business idea and learn the skills they need to market and pitch it to prospective investors.
Last year, hundreds of pupils from schools across the North West competed to be crowned the region’s champions and go onto represent the North West in the Grand Final held in London.
Each year, the overall winning team, judged by a panel of esteemed business figures, is supported by Mosaic to develop and launch their business idea with seed investment of £500 and an additional £2,000 going to their school.
Since 2009, the Enterprise Challenge has helped unearth a wealth of talent and potential in students from across the North West. However, this has only been possible thanks to our volunteer mentors.
By giving up a few hours of their time, their generosity and commitment allows us to inspire young people and develop their confidence, employability and self-esteem.
Our mentors come from a range of businesses and backgrounds. In the past, they’ve included volunteers from professional services firms such as KMPG and Accenture, banks and law firms such as Lloyds, HSBC and DLA Piper LLP, and retailers such as Marks & Spencer.
We’re now looking for professionals and entrepreneurs across the North West to sign-up as mentors.
If you’re interested, then please do get in touch via mosaic@princes-trust.org.uk, call 0203 828 9620 or visit www.mosaicnetwork.co.uk.
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