View from a business volunteer...

Two of the region’s fund managers are investing their time in the future of young people by volunteering to run Young Enterprise North East’s (YENE) enterprise education programmes in schools across the region.

Nick Edgar of IP Group plc and Simon Johnson of NEL Fund Managers have worked with YENE for a number of years and are currently involved in the Company Programme working with students aged 15 to 19 from Church High School in Newcastle.

Nick is also a member of YENE’s Volunteer Committee, which is responsible for the strategic involvement of all business volunteers and aims to encourage even more businesses to get involved with enterprise.

IP Group and NEL are both venture capital companies that are managing two of the region’s Finance for Business North East Funds. IP Group manages the Finance for Business North East Technology Fund and is looking to fund and support 60 high growth SMEs in the region over the coming years. NEL is focussed on funding and backing well-established companies from all sectors in the region and has twenty years’ experience in supporting North East businesses.

Nick was first introduced to YENE when he worked with the charity as part of a graduate placement and has remained a strong believer in what Young Enterprise aims to achieve ever since. He said: “My first experience in the classroom was really good; I had a very supportive link teacher and great support from the Young Enterprise team.

“For anyone in business that has the chance to work with young people I’d say grab it with both hands; it is such a good experience, as young people teach you as much as you could ever hope to teach them, not least in terms of their enthusiasm and generation of creative ideas.”

Nick believes that only by business people going into schools and having direct contact with these young people that we as a region will produce an enthusiastic and entrepreneurial workforce of tomorrow.

Simon added: “As the recent Young Enterprise alumni report highlights; YE students are twice as likely to run their own business in the future, and alumni feel that Young Enterprise contributed more than anything else to their development of transferable skills, such as teamwork, decision-making, and self-motivation.

“Both our day jobs see us work with lots of entrepreneurs and I think it is definitely something that should be encouraged from as early an age as possible. Enterprise education taught by no other than real people in the business world gives young people a good, all-round sense of business acumen. I would encourage anyone in the business community to see how they could get involved.”

They have also had a lot of fun along the way Nick adds: “Hurdles that I have had to overcome include battling with broken staple guns as well as cutting wood and painting – a massive achievement for someone who certainly isn’t Mr DIY!”

www.ipgroupplc.com regional website: www.thenortheasttechnologyfund.com
www.nel.co.uk