Summer Business School Draws Budding Entrepreneurs
The possibility of running their own business continues to appeal to young people in Tower Hamlets with 14 opting to swap a week (4-8 August) of their summer holiday to attend the annual Summer Business School, run by Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (THEBP) and supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch as part of its Financial Education and Employability (FEE) programme.
This year’s event took place at the new Bow School where students from Mulberry, Central Foundation, Bow and Swanlea schools learned the basics of product design, marketing, sales and customer service with the help of business volunteers from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, IT recruitment consultancy, SThree and law firm, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
The group then split into three teams to produce their own ranges of gifts and greetings cards which they sold at lunchtime to employees at Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s City offices.
“For 15 years, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has committed to using its resources and employees to help young people learn important employability and financial management skills,” said Andrea Sullivan, head of Corporate Social Responsibility for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) at the bank. “Investing in the next generation, building confidence and sharing knowledge are crucial to our collective success, and that of the economy. We are extremely proud to work so closely with THEBP and to help deliver the Summer Business School.”
Habbiba Akthar and Helen Kabir from Mulberry School have just completed their GCSEs and will be returning to Mulberry for their ‘A’-Levels. Both girls were part of the ‘Krafty Kreations’ team. “We participated in the summer school last year and it was a lot of fun and we learned a lot so we thought we’d come back,” said Habbiba.
“Also, we were on different teams last year, so we thought it would be good to be on the same team this time and we’re determined to win,” Helen added. Theirs was the first team to make a sale with customised iPhone cases and framed artistic works made from buttons flying off their stall.
Total combined profit on the day was £231.57 to be split between Crisis and Toynbee Hall’s advice services.
The end of the week saw all three teams them pitch their business ideas, backed up with sales results, to a Dragon’s Den panel comprising Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, Faisal Rehman, Treasury Solutions Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Kishan Chandaran, London Metal Exchange and Helen Sanson, Director, Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership.
Mark Boleat said: “Dragon’s Den events such as this are important in giving pupils early exposure to professional scenarios. Having the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills such as pitching a business idea will help young people in their future careers and provide them with the tools they need to navigate a competitive jobs market. At the City of London, we are keen that businesses in the Square Mile continue to draw talent from the surrounding communities, such as Tower Hamlets. The pupils here today could easily be the next generation of employers and innovators.”
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