Enterprise

As the recession continues to bite, more than a fifth of young people are unemployed. More than ever, it’s vital for young people to learn business and entrepreneurial skills, to give them an edge in our competitive job market. We’re giving them that opportunity.

Giving disadvantaged young people enterprise skills

Getting a job is harder than ever for young people at the moment. More than a fifth of 16- to 24-year-olds are unemployed. This doesn’t just mean a lack of cash. Unemployed young people are much less happy with their friendships, family life and health, according to a Prince’s Trust report. One in 10 turns to alcohol or drugs. Young unemployed people are more likely to commit crime too.

Our Enterprise Ambition programme is helping disadvantaged young people break out of this vicious cycle. We’re helping them build the skills they need to find work and to start up businesses themselves.

Enterprise Ambition will see young people supported through the different stages of developing business ideas using innovative technology. The scheme is being funded through the RBS Inspiring Enterprise initiative and will be piloted from January 2012 before being rolled out nationally. The most promising business ideas and plans will receive business mentoring and access to small start-up loans to bring their ideas to reality.

Supporting our programme is Lizzie Magee, who was a finalist on the BBC’s Young Apprentice show, working with Lord Alan Sugar. Lizzie is helping to shape the programme, working with other young people and partners.

Lizzie says: "I was very excited when approached to be involved with Ambition.

"This fantastic organisation strives to better the everyday lives and futures of young people, who in the current economic climate can be argued to have been given the brunt of the cuts, with rising tuition fees putting many off the idea of university and the abolition of EMA putting many off the idea of further education altogether.

"The enterprise skills they learn are vital for their future and entry into the workplace. It is nice to know someone is thinking of young people and I am so proud to be a part of it."

Look out for more information on this innovative new programme soon.

PhoneBrain

Ambition supports an annual national awards competition run by our partner, PhoneBrain. The competition calls on entrepreneurial young people to submit ideas for a new phone-paid service.

Phones are a great way to make money and raise charity funds. This is often done through telephone services, texts and increasingly, apps. PhoneBrain seeks out young people's ideas for a mobile app that can send a charge to your bill or pre-pay account.

There are three different categories to win, with the 2013 awards backed by partners Live UnLtd, The Lord’s Taverners and StartUp Britain.

All winners come to Nesta in London to pitch their ideas to a Dragons' Den-style panel of experts and win prizes.

The team deemed to have the best technical design for an app receive the Techie award, backed by BlackBerry.

In 2012 young people from our network won more than £4,000 and business mentoring for a year as part of their involvement in the competition. They were asked to submit ideas of how mobiles could be used for good in their community, pitching to a panel including representatives from BT, O2 and Three as well as Ambition chief executive Helen Marshall.

There were five winners from Ambition members’ clubs.

Find out more at http://clubleaders.phonebrain.org.uk/competition/