KEY POINTS:
The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) is important because it teaches young people how to run a business.
So says a sponsor of the scheme for the Manukau region, Kit Parkinson, managing director of Pacific Loans.
"It does help develop young entrepreneurs. It teaches young people about business, how to pay tax, create a business plan, find a project and develop it. It also teaches about marketing and profit.
"I must say I wish it was around when I was at school."
More than 500 students and 85 student companies took part in the Counties Manukau YES, which is the biggest in the country, says Enterprising Manukau's Anita Keestra. The awards recognised and celebrated success, hard work and effort applied by YES students over the year in building their businesses.
Parkinson's company has been sponsoring the scheme for about five years. "It's rewarding to see people who come through it. Enterprise Manukau is doing a good job and low-decile schools are a part of it."
Parkinson says his company gives Enterprise Manukau money and he and his staff help with the judging, mentoring and assessing of some groups in the programme.
"South Auckland gets a hard time in the press - there are lots of positive things happening. People work hard. The scheme is a business version of Outward Bound ... Some students have even kept [their businesses] going.
"The country's growth is led by small businesses. This is a way to help our young people to think in this way."
Alastair Campbell, a teacher at Macleans College, says: "As a teacher who is passionate about teaching business studies, the Young Enterprise Scheme has allowed me to see students succeed in business ventures while still students at school.
"It has benefited two groups of students. Firstly, those who have taken a business-related subject and can see a practical application of their classroom learning. In addition, it has allowed a large number of students to experience learning about operating a business as an activity outside the classroom, despite not having taken a business-related subject."
He says that local business input has been critical to the success the students have achieved over the years.
"Members of the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay have given huge support to the school with mentoring the students on a weekly basis over the majority of the year.
"In particular, Richard Osborne, a local lawyer and Rod Cooke, a local business consultant, have contributed a considerable amount of time to the students and this input and additional expertise has given the students another perspective and insight into their businesses and the issues they encounter along the way."
Andrea Lim, a teacher at Pukekohe High School, agrees: "Without the support of local business, it would be difficult to get some of the company activities off the ground. We have been very lucky with the business community taking active interest in coming forward when approached for mentoring, etc. Success breeds success and with a reputation of turning out award-winners, there seems no problem either asking for assistance or buying or promoting our products."
She says business groups have made their meetings available as a vehicle to promote the YES idea.
"Developing a competitive streak is great, so we are in favour of awards as promoting excellence, but underpinning all this I absolutely stress that being ethical in business is a must and that my job would be considered well done if in the future I see any of their names up in the lights for doing good deeds that show they are giving someone else a 'hand up' so that person too can achieve success."
David Hartstone, managing director of Creative Awards, says his company sponsors two lots of the young enterprise awards: "First it's the run-through ones, and then the major awards."
He says: "The scheme is great as it takes young people through the process of taking an idea and bringing it to commercialisation and having it judged by business people. It is excellent for the young people as well - as it's a good thing to show future employers that they already know how to create a business plan, etc.
"It will help them find work - put them ahead of the pack. It's a great introduction into the real world and sets them apart."
Nick Gray was involved with YES from 2003 to 2004 when he was at school. Now 22, he says: "There were several things which made YES an attractive opportunity for me. I had always enjoyed the idea of business and developing [a business] or a service that was in demand, with the obvious prospects of hopefully some compensation for your efforts. Also I understood that teamwork was a very important skill to start developing as early as I could and YES provided me with an opportunity to do that."
Of the importance of local business involvement, he says: "Without sounding clichéd, the involvement of a lot of the local businesses and organisations was a very important part of our learning process. I think more than anything it was the businesses that treated us as they would a regular business customer that we learned the most from, though.
"One of the most frustrating things that would sometimes happen would be that people wouldn't take us seriously because we were still in school, so we really appreciated those who treated us normally.
"Having said that, it was all part of the learning process and learning how to deal with lots of types of people in local business was just as important, if not more so."
* The Counties Manukau Outstanding Regional Company of the Year Award went to two Young Enterprise companies: Dice, from Auckland Seventh Day Adventist High School, which marketed the Mosquito ringtone - a tone that could not be heard by people over the age of 23. The other winner was Light Stick from Macleans College, which designed and produced quality lighting solutions for operators of small water craft to prevent collisions. Light Stick also won the Innovation and Excellence in Business Management Award.
