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Future entrepreneurs join Regional Minister at Aston Villa FC to kick start new Enterprise Initiatives for Young People
Support for young people's enterprise receives two boosts on Monday (17 November) when Ian Austin, Minister for the West Midlands, joins school pupils from the Birmingham area to kick start the West Midlands Young People's Enterprise Centre of Expertise (YPCOE) and the Aston Villa Football Club Enterprise Academy (AVFCEA).
The new schemes are sponsored by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and are being announced to coincide with the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week, which runs from 17-23 November and which is supported through Enterprise Insight's Make Your Mark campaign - the national campaign to unlock the UK's enterprise potential.
Ian Austin, Minister for the West Midlands, said: "I am delighted to be here today to help launch these two vital and pioneering business schemes for young people.
"The West Midlands, like the rest of the country, needs more young entrepreneurs and more young people to become interested in business, now more so than ever. Both projects will help to create a buzz about business.
"The region is proud of its young people and is working hard to provide them with the right support and opportunities, so they can engage with business, learn more about enterprise and develop that crucial entrepreneurial attitude which will ensure the West Midlands produce more businesses and business people - and more of the country's top flight companies and leaders.
"As the first region to launch a young people's enterprise centre of expertise and one of the first regions to launch a Premier League enterprise academy, the West Midlands is again leading the way."
Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, said: "I want to see the UK at the top of the international league and become the most enterprising nation in the world.
"Supporting young people in enterprise is a long-term investment for the future. Our aim is to get young people to start thinking about the benefits of running their own business, and to recognise the positive impact that enterprising attitudes can have in every area of their lives.
"Aston Villa's scheme will have a tremendous impact on the local community and will provide a range of exciting opportunities to help develop the next generation of top entrepreneurs.
"The initiative will help to give young people in Birmingham an understanding of Aston Villa FC as a business rather than just a football club and hopefully help them to enjoy learning about enterprise along the way."
Debra Blisson, Director of Business Support and Enterprise at Advantage West Midlands, who leads on the Regional Enterprise Delivery Framework, the vehicle for the West Midlands Economic Strategy, Connecting to Success, said: "These two new innovate initiatives for young people form part of a larger piece of work to support enterprise among underrepresented groups - including women, ethnic minorities and social enterprises - and to develop a truly enterprising culture across the West Midlands, one of the key priorities of the Regional Enterprise Delivery Framework.
"We have high hopes for great success with both projects, as well as for Global Entrepreneurship Week, which this year sees more than 440 planned events taking place across the West Midlands and more than 100 schools taking part."
Louise Bennett, OBE and Chief Executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, which will manage the YPCOE (which itself will oversee the running of the AVFCEA), said: "The YPCOE and AVFCEA are fantastic opportunities to create in our young people a real enthusiasm for business at the same time as developing their skills and nurturing their spirit of enterprise."
Duncan Riddle, Head of Community at Aston Villa Football Club, said: "Aston Villa Football Club is delighted to be involved in this important new enterprise. We are committed to our three key community projects of football development, education and social inclusion, which make the Premier League Enterprise Academy a perfect fit with our vision and mission, as well as our commitment to local young people and young fans."
Notes to Editors:
Advantage West Midlands is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England whose role is to provide leadership and action to create more, better jobs and an improved quality of life for all in the West Midlands. For more information visit http://www.advantagewm.co.uk
The YPCOE has been funded through £650,000 from Advantage West Midlands, to initially provide three years' strategic support for the development of young people's enterprise across the West Midlands, influencing the policies and practices of regional business support and economic development.
The centre will focus on all young people aged 5 to 25.
The YPCOE is managed by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) with access to, and the support of, Enterprise Insight's Make Your Mark campaign.
The top objectives of YPCOE are to:
* Facilitate the integration of young people's enterprise development into mainstream business support and economic regeneration activity across the whole of the West Midlands region, thereby increasing the number of young people starting a business and accessing business support
* Ensure that young people throughout the region are able to access enterprising activities within their school and community in order to help develop a more enterprising culture and change attitudes towards entrepreneurship.
The AVFCEA has been established to deliver enterprise education to 13-14-year-olds in curriculum time over an initial three-year programme, working with five local schools.
The aim is to give young football fans a unique insight into the running of an exciting multinational business.
Premier League Enterprise Academies
The Premier League Enterprise Academies were first mentioned in the Governments National Enterprise Strategy, the statement was that:
"The Government will work with the English Premier League football clubs to promote enterprise and deliver enterprise education through the football clubs community programmes. This will include working with schools and wider members of the clubs' local communities."
Since that announcement AWM has visited the Middlesbrough FC EA and worked with Enterprise Insight, the Premier league, Aston Villa FC and Birmingham City Council to fund, develop and now launch a similar initiative.
Within the West Midlands, the YPCOE will be challenged with overseeing the pilot, developing a methodology for monitoring and measuring the true impact.
The AVFCEA is based initially on the successful Middlesbrough Enterprise Academy's core programme and accredited by OCR Examinations. The programmes currently running at Middlesbrough FC and Blackburn Rovers have already helped hundreds of local children improve their entrepreneurial skills and increase their awareness of business planning and finance.
For more information on the Premier League/PFA Community Fund and the wide range of work delivered by Premier League clubs in the community, visit: http://www.premierleague.com
Make Your Make http://www.makeyourmark.co.uk, the national campaign to unlock the UK's enterprise potential, is run by Enterprise Insight, a not for profit organisation founded by the four main business organisations (CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, Institute of Directors and Federation of Small Businesses) and is primarily funded by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
The West Midlands Make Your Mark team is on hand to help anyone to register their event for Enterprise Week and to provide advice and support. Contact the team by email at westmidlands@makeyourmark.org.uk or telephone on 02476 236 438.
The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform helps UK business to succeed in an increasingly competitive world. It promotes business growth and a strong enterprise economy, leads the better regulation agenda and champions free and fair markets.
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