Teens get down to business

Andrew Pickering, 17, is one of four Western Bay students travelling to Auckland this weekend to take part in the challenge. Photo / John Borren

Four Western Bay of Plenty college students will be learning from the professionals this weekend at the FedEx Express/Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge.

Declan Penwarden from Katikati College, Hannah Cull from Aquinas College, Andrew Pickering from Otumoetai College and Sophie Shrimpton from Tauranga Girls' College will be heading to Auckland on Friday to take part in the trade challenge.

The teens will join a group of 80 students from around the country who were selected to take part in the competition by the Young Enterprise Trust.

Students will be asked to come up with a market entry strategy challenge in which they have 20 hours to develop a business plan, a product prototype and a multimedia presentation.

A final team of six will be chosen to go to Singapore in August to represent New Zealand in the Asia-Pacific regional final.

Andrew, 17, said each of the students were put into groups with others from around the country who had not met before.

"It will be interesting with the diversity of everyone there."

The groups would be judged by a "dragons' den" type panel, Andrew said.

"We're given an exporting problem we have to solve. We have to find innovative ways to solve the problem then pitch it to the dragons' den."

Andrew said he was looking forward to practising his business skills and learning about solving different exporting problems.

Sophie, 17, said she decided to get involved with the challenge because she was interested in business and wanted to gain experience from the business community.

She is hoping to study commerce at Auckland University next year so believed the skills gained in the challenge would put her in good stead.

Declan, 16, said he was looking forward to the competitive side of the event and seeing how good he was at business compared with everyone else.

He hoped to gain business skills from professionals and understand the business world better.

Hannah, 17, was looking forward to the event and meeting the members of her team for the first time.

Gaining better interpersonal skills would be a huge plus, such as how to deal with people she did not know in group situations.