Sure's decades of support for youth enterprise

Monday 09 January 2023

Sure is celebrating 40 years of supporting the island’s Young Enterprise programme, as it looks ahead to another 12 months of the scheme.

As well as offering financial support, Sure Guernsey’s Chief Executive will act as a judge at the ‘Dragon’s Den’ style event and finals night, which sees him select the best participants the competition has to offer.

The Young Enterprise programme seeks to encourage secondary school-aged students to venture into the world of business. Anyone aged between 15 and 19 can take part and participants are put into teams to test their business leadership skills. 

They are tasked with coming up with their own company and making real-life business decisions, such as electing board members, raising share capital, creating a marketing plan, managing the company’s finances, and delivering a product or service. 

For the first time in 2023, competitors will go head-to-head in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style event where teams pitch their ideas to and area board members. This filters competitors down from teams of eight to four. The final four will then be able to take part in the programme, start their own business, and work with a business advisor as in previous years. 

Pictured: Young people from all secondary schools are encouraged to test their business skills in the programme.

CEO of JobLab, Rhiannon Mallard encouraged the island’s youth to get involved after a successful attempt last year: “Creating a business was a very stressful but fun learning experience. During the Young Enterprise programme, our team developed skills such as leadership, communication, organisation, and financial management.  

“I personally gained insights on managing a team. If you are thinking of joining the next Young Enterprise programme, I say do it”. 

Justin Bellinger, Sure Guernsey Chief Executive, said the panel were “blown away” by the quality of ideas presented by JobLab team.

“Their company recognised a need within a specific target demographic, and they met that need with an intelligent solution built on hard work and innovation.

“Sure has been an integral part of the Young Enterprise programme for four decades, and I am proud to be a part of that journey. The programme aligns with our goal of keeping islanders connected, as it encourages students from all walks of life to collaborate, communicate, and cultivate exceptional business ideas. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing what this years’ intake have in store for us. After the work of JobLab last year, the bar of quality is very high indeed.”

Pictured (top): (L-R) Pauline Marquis, Tim Wainwright, Justin Bellinger, Joseph Blake, Karen Wickham, Clive Davies.