Dragons Den met the Apprentice this week at Harrow College as Level 3 Business students became entrepreneurs and pitched their business ideas in front of established industry experts. Over 60 students let their creative juices flow at a fun employability and enterprise event delivered by social enterprise education specialists Working Knowledge.
The students aged 16-18 were given a unique opportunity to develop new business ideas with the support of expert local business volunteers from a range of sectors including finance, tourism, local government, medicine, construction and digital.
The students worked in teams to create innovative new products or services. With the help of the employers the students developed their business plan through a series of hands on workshops designed to develop their employability skills. They went on to pitch their ideas in front of the experts with the winning team and individuals being awarded prizes during a presentation ceremony at the end of the day.
Working Knowledge is passionate about creating chances for young people to open doors into employment and changing employer's perceptions of the value of young people in industry. Stuart McLean, Business Mentor at the Prince's Trust was one of the business experts today. He commented:
"It was fantastic to see the absolutely amazing transformation from where the students started off at the beginning of the day to the articulate, driven, business-savvy and highly employable young entrepreneurs at the end of the day".
Hiren Tanna, 17, was one of the students who won a prize for his entrepreneurial endeavour during the day. He said "I have learnt a lot today and it will definitely help me in the future. Pitching in front of business experts tested my character and gave me confidence".
Commenting on today's event and the wider career focus taking place at Harrow College, Lee Janaway, Director of Student Experience said "Working Knowledge support the good work Harrow College does in boosting students employability skills by giving them access to relevant employers who are willing to support our learners. Today has been a great success and we look forward to engaging our students with more expert sessions like this going forward".