1www. youngenterprise.org.nz

Term 1 2013

Leaders in enterprise and financial education

New online resource centre and websiteFarewell and thanks to Lyn and MarionInterview with YES mentor Lance HutchisonBook prize draw – see inside to enter

www.youngenterprise.org.nz2

CONTENTSTalking about enterprise

¯ CEO Terry Shubkin

Headline News

¯ Programme Registration 2013 – Free and Easy!

Welcome to Lucy Wymer ¯

New website and resource centre ¯launched

& More

Student Success

Te Papa awards night ¯

Feature

¯ Farewell and thanks to Lyn and Marion

Programme News

¯ Primary Programmes

Secondary Enterprise ¯

BP Business Challenge ¯

Young Enterprise Scheme ¯

Connecting business with schools

An interview with YES Mentor ¯Lance Hutchison

Important Dates

The close

Visit www.enterprisematters.org.nz Subscribe to Enterprise Matters for Free & receive your own copy four times a year

3

4

8

10

12

14

16

17

Inspiring, Educating &Transforming students through enterprise experiences

3www. youngenterprise.org.nz

Charities Commission Registration

Number: CC21103

Editorial Content Paul Newsom

Contact Paul on 04 570 3984 or

paul.newsom@youngenterprise.org.nz

Address Young Enterprise Trust,

Level 2, iPayroll House, PO Box 25 525,

Wellington, NZ

www.youngenterprise.org.nz

Art Director Jodi Olsson

Publisher Espire Media Po Box 137162,

Parnell, Auckland 1151

Enquiries: Phone Richard on 09 522 7257

or email richardl@espiremedia.com

ISSN 1177-875X

Welcome to our first issue of Enterprise Matters for 2013, and Happy New Year. As our

summer draws to a close, I hope you are having a wonderful start to the year.

While we may joke about New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, be healthier or quit a bad habit – the concept of reflecting on last year and looking forward to the New Year is a good one.

The origins of both New Year’s Day celebrations and resolutions go back to pre-Christian times. The ancient Babylonian celebrations were in March and resolutions were focused around returning borrowed objects and paying debts. The Romans began each year making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. Janus is a two-faced god who looks backwards into the old year and forward into the New Year.

Looking back, 2012 was an exciting and busy year for us. We continued to work closely with schools across the region and were pleased to see an increase in the uptake of our programmes. The year ended on a high note for us with a full-house at our National Awards for the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme. Close to 400 people attended this magical night at Te Papa where the tales of success were an inspiration to everyone.

On the domestic front, we piloted two new programmes: Enterprise 4 Kids for Years 4 – 8 and Young Enterprise Start-Up for Year 11. We launched numerous new financial literacy resources for Year 1 – 13. We introduced webinars to provide more training for teachers. We piloted new

initiatives with Teen Parent Units and At Risk Youth providers.

Internationally, we finished a two-year contract to introduce financial education into all levels of school in Fiji.

And, in the middle of all of this we moved offices and introduced new IT systems.

Looking forward we will continue to use your feedback to either modify programmes and resources or add new ones. While we have finished the Fiji contract, we are excited by a new opportunity to pilot the Young Enterprise Scheme in the Cook Islands.

We welcome a new member to the team. Lucy Wymer, formerly the HoD of Business Studies at Aorere College, starts in the newly created role of Enterprise Education Advisor, providing hands-on support to other teachers.

As we welcome Lucy to the team, we get ready to say farewell to another staff member. After 17 years of service, Lyn Morris has decided to retire and will be finishing with us at the end of February. It would take pages for me to list all that Lyn has accomplished during those years. But to summarise, financial education in New Zealand schools would not be where it is today without Lyn’s significant contribution. As Lyn finishes this phase of her life and gets ready for her next one, we all sit here hoping she will remember to send us postcards from her travels.

TALKINGABOUTENTERPRISECEO Terry Shubkin

This is a GREEN MAG, created and distrib-uted without the use of paper so it's envi-ronmentally friendly. Please think before

you print. Thank you!

Cover picture: Lar Su’a, CEO of Young Enterprise Scheme team of the year, and winner of the 2012 YES Managing Director of the Year Award.

Enterprise Matters is a publication of the Young Enterprise Trust

Inspiring, Educating &Transforming students through enterprise experiences

4 www.youngenterprise.org.nz

Programme Registration 2013 – Free and Easy!Our new registration system only takes two minutes to complete, and gives you free access to many of our resources.By registering with us, you will receive free access to our teaching and learning resources through our Online Resource Centre. The registration process has been simplified and should only take you two minutes to complete. Your registration is important, even if you already have the resources you need. We regularly update many resources, and will be creating new ones this year as well. Registering is the only way you can stay up to date with the latest news.Our sponsors also like to know how many schools and students we are connecting with each year. Their support is the only way we can offer you almost all of our resources free of charge.If you are thinking of using our programmes and/or resources, register with us now here. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/youngenterprisenz

HEAdLINENEwS

welcome to Lucy wymer

We are delighted to announce that Lucy Wymer has been appointed to the role of Enterprise Support Advisor. The objective of this role is to support teachers to help raise the achievement of Pasifika students with enterprise education and financial literacy. This role provides in the classroom support to teachers, working with:

The Ministry of Pacific Island •Affairs Initiative for the top 25 Pasifika Secondary Schools.

The Glenn Family Foundation •Initiative for Primary and Secondary schools in Otara.

Lucy has been teaching Business Education for 17 years and moved to NZ from England in 2003. She has just completed a very successful nine years as Head of the Business Education

Department at Aorere College.

It was here at Aorere College where Lucy successfully introduced the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme. Over eight years, companies from Aorere College received numerous Regional Awards and four of Lucy’s teams were successful in winning Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme National Awards. Teams from Aorere College won the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs award for Excellence in Pasifika Business in 2008, 2009 and 2012 and the Gallagher Award for Excellence in Social Enterprise in 2010.

Lucy has a wealth of experience in teaching enterprise courses. She is looking forward to working with teachers and students across a range of schools to help them introduce and develop successful enterprise programmes.

Lucy Wymer (centre) with her 2012 MPIA award winning YES team Papa Tales, at the Annual Awards

5www. youngenterprise.org.nz

New website and resource centre launchedWe are really excited to have launched a new online Resource Centre early in term 1, as part of a major website upgrade. The Resource Centre gives teachers free access to resources for all of our enterprise programmes, as well as a wide range of financial education

resources for use in the classroom.

“This is a major step forward for us,” says Sasha Webb, Communications Manager at Young Enterprise Trust. “The Resource Centre is a bit like TradeMe – teachers can log in using their own details and manage their own registration to get access to the resources they need. Gone are the days

where teachers need to re- register each year for programmes and use a multitude of passwords.”

Visit our shiny new website at www.youngenterprise.org.nz and join up now. Our Support Team will send you the login details for the Resource Centre within 24 hours.

6 www.youngenterprise.org.nz

BP takes on Business ChallengeBP has been announced as the major sponsor for the Business Challenge, our 3-day programme, which sees Year 11 students work in teams to pitch a business concept to local judges. It is delivered in schools by the Young Enterprise team right across the country.

“We’re really delighted to announce BP as the major sponsor for the Business Challenge,” says Young Enterprise Trust CEO Terry Shubkin. “BP is our longest-serving sponsor and has been a longtime supporter for our Enterprise Studies and Community Enterprise programmes.”

Matt Elliott, Managing Director of BP New Zealand, says BP is proudly continuing its’ support of Young Enterprise Trust. “This year, we will celebrate a 20-year partnership with Young Enterprise Trust. Terry and her team are passionate about supporting New Zealand students, and that’s something we’re very happy to support.

We think the BP Business Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for us to connect with communities throughout the country.”

The BP Business Challenge will be run in 44 schools this year, with an estimated 3500 students from 54 schools and 200 local judges taking part.

Junior Enterprise Challenge kicks off in Otara

Later on this term, we will be running the new Junior Enterprise Challenge for the first time, with 12 schools in Otara participating. Initiated by the Glenn Family Foundation, we will run two, 3 day Challenges for year 5-6 students, and one, 4 day Challenge for year 7-8 students. At each challenge, up to five schools will be sending a group of

students who will be working together.

The Challenge is an introductory enterprise and financial education programme facilitated by staff from the Trust. Teachers from each school will observe and participate so that they can get a first-hand introduction to how the primary enterprise and financial education programmes and resources can be used in the classroom.

As the year progresses, we will then be working with the schools on an individual basis to tailor specific programmes, and help teachers to implement enterprise and financial education into the classroom.

To register your interest in a Junior Enterprise Challenge in your area, contact paul.newsom@youngenterprise.org.nz

“We’re really delighted to announce BP as the major

sponsor for the Business Challenge,” says Young

Enterprise Trust CEO Terry Shubkin. “BP is our longest-

serving sponsor and has been a longtime supporter for our Enterprise Studies

and Community Enterprise programmes.”

7www. youngenterprise.org.nz

Professional developmentThere is lots of enterprise PD on offer for you this term.

Primary Enterprise workshops

The one day Primary Enterprise workshop is touring the country in February and March visiting 10 locations. If you are running and enterprise programme for the first time this year, or want a refresher, then this workshop is for you. The workshop fee is $150.00 which includes the teacher manual, morning tea and lunch.

webinars

We have seven webinars scheduled on a variety of topics for term 1.The webinars allow you to get the information you need, in just 45 minutes, without leaving the comfort of your own office. Check the calendar on page 16 for the details of workshops and webinars.

The Young New Zealander’s Guide to Entrepreneurship – on sale now‘The Young New Zealander’s Guide to Entrepreneurship’ is now available to purchase at all Whitcoulls stores. The book includes case studies from YES alumni, and hints and tips from prominent New Zealand businesspeople including Sir Peter Leitch, Tony Falkenstein and Tim Alpe.

‘The Young New Zealander’s Guide to Entrepreneurship’ is designed as a resource for students taking part in the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme, but would also be a fantastic resource in any Business Studies classroom.

The book chronicles the new business

startup process and has hot tips and practical advice on everything from generating business ideas through to successful marketing strategies.

Every student that purchases a copy also goes into a draw to win a day with a leading CEO. Xero’s Rod Drury, Sir Stephen Tindall and Anne and David Norman (owners of Pascoes and Farmers) have all volunteered to host the winning students for a day. ■

The economy needs you!Today, entrepreneurship is a real career choice. Entrepreneurs establish and build business enterprises, they generate new ideas, create new wealth, new jobs, and new products and services. And the skills of the entrepreneur‑creativity, insight, innovation, decision‑making, and the ability to see the big picture‑are valued by companies and organisations more than ever.

The Young New Zealander’s Guide to Entrepreneurship is an inspirational and practical guide to starting your own business. Fully endorsed by the Young Enterprise Scheme, the book is filled with great advice from winning teams, business mentors, and some of New Zealand’s leading business people.

Inside, you’ll discover:

‹ Why being an entrepreneur is important‹ Where good ideas come from, and how to kick‑start

your own‹ Ways to test your business idea in the marketplace‹ How to put a winning team together‹ How to write a business plan‹ Top tips for marketing and selling your product/service‹ How to manage your money‹ How to communicate well and negotiate effectively‹ How to manage your business through its different

stages‹ And much more

Money

Passion

InspIratIon

Creativity

Direction

EnErgy

Ian hunter Ph.d.

I n s P I r I n g s T o r I e s , g r e AT A d V I c e

new ZeAlAnder’s guIde ToenTrePreneurshIP

youngTh

e

vision

FOCUS

The young new

ZeAlAnder’s guIde To enTrePreneurshIP IAn hunTer

we have two copies of ‘The Young New Zealander’s Guide to Entrepreneurship’ to give away. To enter, just email support@youngenterprise.org.nz with ‘Book draw’ in the subject heading to enter. Entries close 14 March 2013, one entry per person and the winners will be notified by email.

8 www.youngenterprise.org.nz

STUdENTSUCCESSOur 2012 awards night held at Te Papa in December went off with a bang, with a record attendance. Well done to all the winners.

1

2 3

4 5

1. Caring & Co, Manurewa High School – Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme Company of the Year & Te Puni Kokiri Award for Excellence in Maori Business. 2. Hpcrecords, Hauraki Plains College – Award for Excellence in Enterprising Music. 3. Ethical Mall, Garin College – The Todd Corporation Award for Young Enterprisers (2nd place), NZ Aid Award for a product solving a Development Problem, XERO Award for Innovation in ICT. 4. Our Backyard, Opotiki College – The Todd Corporation Award for Young Enterprisers (3rd place). 5. Grape Big Barrels, Francis Douglas Memorial College – Award for Excellence in Enterprising Technology.

www. youngenterprise.org.nz 9

11. DanceFitR, Aparima College – Award for Excellence in a Service Business12. Papa Tales, Aorere College – Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs Award for Excellence in Pasifika Business.13. Lar Su’a, Manurewa High School – NZICA Award for Young Managing Director of the Year.14. Flatpack Farming, Rangi Ruru Girls’ School – Ministry of Youth Development Award for Commitment, and MOVAC Award for High Growth Potential.15. Kosmo, Kingsway School, The Edge Award for Excellence in Communication.16. Napier Food Bank Team, Taradale High School – BP Community Enterprise Programme, Junior Secondary Award.17. Alfriston College – BP Innovation Award18. Maraetotara Mission-aires, Twyford School – BP Community Enterprise Programme Intermediate Award.

6

7 8 9 10

6. Decagon, Pukekohe High School, Award for Excellence in Environmental Sustainability.7. Tomoli Enterprises, Otumoetai College – Award for Excellence in Sales and Marketing.8. Pink, Samuel Marsden Collegiate – Gallagher Group Award for Excellence in Social Enterprise.9. Isabella Morris, Tauranga Girls’ College, AUT University Scholar of the Year.10. Marion Holloway, Opotiki College – Sir James Fletcher Award for Outstanding Contribution to Enterprise.

11 12 13

14

15 16

17

18

www.youngenterprise.org.nz10

FEATURE

Marion Holloway of Opotiki College was the deserving recipient of the 2012 Sir James Fletcher Award for outstanding contribution to enterprise. Marion retired from teaching at the end of the year and we think it very fitting to print here Marion’s acceptance speech.

FAREWELL AND THANKS TO LYN AND MARION

contribute to achieving team goals.Even more importantly they have learned about life and themselves. A famous British Politician, Winston Churchill, expressed this eloquently when he said,“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”. So – has it been worth it? Without a doubt!

One of my recent companies won the National Competition and are studying at University in Auckland as a result of their Business Scholarships from AUT and Young Enterprise. Each company I have worked with has taken away so much from the experience.Young Enterprise in the UK commissioned

an independent study from Kingston University to coincide with 50 years of the scheme. Not surprisingly, they found that young people, given the chance to run businesses at school, are almost twice as likely to set up firms later in life which employ more people – are more innovative, more high tech and resilient than other students.I didn’t really need proof of the validity of the scheme – it just proves what I already know – YES, - Young Enterprise is worth it! So, thank you again for this award and on behalf of all companies past and present – thank you Young Enterprise for all your good work!”

“I am both flattered and honoured to achieve this award and, as I prepare to retire from the teaching profession

this month, it has afforded me the opportunity to reflect on my years with the scheme and the hundreds – dare I say thousands – of hours I have spent working with companies over the years. And to ask myself two questions – Why did I do it? And, was it worth it?

I believe passionately that education is the key to creating the kind of society I want for my grandchildren – and for their children. During my time in education, I have witnessed the launch of a number of initiatives which aim to improve education and combat inequality of opportunity between regions. Working, as I have, in low decile schools, I watched these with interest because in Young Enterprise, I believed that I had already found an initiative which had achieved these aims.Young Enterprise doesn’t think in deciles!Young Enterprise doesn’t believe in teacher dominated education!

But – Young Enterprise does believe in experiential student-centred learning. Indeed, it is the best example of authentic learning I have ever come across. The academic rigor of the exam adds to its appeal for me. Each company I have worked with over the years has had the opportunity to develop skills at the highest level; to overcome challenges; explore their creativity and

11www. youngenterprise.org.nz

IMPLEMENTING THE FINANCIAL EDUCATION VISION

“1995 was an important year in the development of the scope of the Trust. Its CEO, Ken Baker, returned from the

UK with a vision of getting financial education into schools. The Trust’s Board was keen to make this happen and I was fortunate to be selected to implement Ken’s vision.

At that time, financial education was increasingly viewed worldwide as a necessary outcome of the financial deregulation that had taken place in the 1980s. Deregulation had increased the number and range of financial products and services, providing increased choice for many, and changes to the welfare state were encouraging people to take over more responsibility for long term financial planning. Did New Zealand citizens have the money management capability to enable them to cope? Financial education in schools was seen as one solution. Teachers needed resources, professional development and assessment tools to support them, if financial education was going to happen.

Seventeen year later, I can look back with pride at what have we achieved at the Young Enterprise Trust, often in partnership with others, to support the implementation of financial education in schools. Here are some of the highlights:

Developing programmes, such as the •Financial Literacy Programme and the Financial Studies courseCreating short course resources, •such as KiwiSaver

Building on existing television •material, such as Sorted Journeys (for the CFLRI) and Your Money Sorted, to create learning opportunities at teachable momentsCreating literacy and numeracy •linked material at primary levelDeveloping teaching and learning •manuals for primary year levels 1- 8Developing cost effective •downloadable games, such as Tactix, Balance the Books, Credit crunch, InEx budgeting games, and several money-related variations of Snakes and LaddersWorking with the Reserve Bank to •create the game “Skint to Mint” – a unique teaching tool for risk and rewardSetting up Money Day, an off-site •event for year 10 studentsCreating a Personal Financial Education •curriculum (years 1 – 13) for the CFLRIWorking with NZQA on a number of •working parties to create a Personal Financial Management matrix for unit standards (many with grades)Developing teaching resources to •enable teachers to deliver and assess unit standard courses Setting up an assessment tool (in •conjunction with Auckland University of Technology) for the Financial Literacy ProgrammeDeveloping assessments for most •of the PFM unit standards currently registered on the NZQA website

Training many hundreds of teachers •both face to face and more recently through webinars

Our records show, that each year, we have more than 220 secondary and 38 primary schools using our material. This is a total of 15,000 secondary and 2,500 primary students a year developing a capability that will last them a lifetime.

And what of the future?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if New Zealand students had the full opportunity now afforded to all students in Fiji? The Trust, as technical advisor, has just completed a two year contract, funded by AusAid and managed by UNDP, where financial education has been fully integrated into the Fiji curriculum from years 1 – 12. With the political support of the Fijian government and its Ministry of Education, financial education is compulsory for all students at all year levels. What an achievement!

My thanks to the Young Enterprise Trust for the opportunity to be part of a team that is making a difference in our young people’s lives. I appreciate the strong support of so many teachers who transferred the vision into the classroom. But there is still a way to go before we catch up with our near neighbour in the Pacific. We need others to ‘stand on the shoulders of the giants’ in this field to extend the vision and continue the journey.” ■

At the end of February, Lyn Morris will retire after 17 years with the Trust. From everyone at the Trust, we wish Lyn and Rhys health and happiness in their retirement, as they look forward to enjoying some travel and time with her grandchildren. Here, Lyn reflects on some of the achievements over the past 17 years, and shares her hopes for the future.

www.youngenterprise.org.nz12

1. Primary:

Primary Financial Education resources

now available Our comprehensive suite of Financial Education resources are tailored for you to use with students at Year levels 1 – 8. Integrated with the Social Sciences, English and Mathematics curriculums, the resources include Teachers’ Manuals at Levels 1 - 4 of the New Zealand Curriculum, with units of work aligned with the MoE’s Financial Capability Progressions of Learning.

The units of learning develop financial capability through a social inquiry approach and provide an excellent context for authentic learning around earning, spending, saving and sharing. Characters in the units are matched to the age of students at each curriculum level, enabling students to identify with them and their life experiences from a financial perspective. The units of work are explicit and supported with detailed lesson plans, follow-up activities and student assessments.

Supporting the units of learning are fun and engaging Financial Education board games for all primary levels. The games are supported with lesson plans, assessment rubrics and financial recording sheets such as cashbooks. The Financial Education board

PROGRAMMENEwS

games include a game board, game rules, student recording sheet and an assessment rubric. The games are easily integrated with the classroom numeracy programme.

The Primary Financial Education resources are available free to teachers who register. Jump online at: www.youngenterprise.org.nz

2. Secondary Enterprise:There is plenty going on for Secondary students. Highlights include:

The DairyNZ Get Ahead Challenge •for year 10 students will run for the third year, beginning in Term 2. The Challenge is proving very popular with many students and schools enrolling.

The Community Enterprise Programme •runs at year 7-8 and year 9-10. Winning teams win up to $500 at year 7-8 and $1000 at year 9-10 to implement their community project idea.

Enterprise studies is a Year 9/10 •programme which culminates in a

Market Day. This programme has the free resource book ‘Enterprising People’ available in a pdf version.

The new Young Enterprise StartUp •Programme for year 11 students is designed to align with the Level 1 Achievement Standards for business studies. It will feature a ‘Company of the year’ award and members of the winning team will be invited to attend the National Awards event in December. Details of this award will be sent to registered schools during term 1.

3. BP Business Challenge

The BP Business Challenge takes to the road early in term 1, visiting schools in Christchurch, Blenheim, Wellington and Auckland during February. This year, 54 schools will be taking part in 44 Challenges, up and down the country. We have been heavily oversubscribed for the Challenge this year, so it is great to see schools combining to allow more schools

www. youngenterprise.org.nz 13

“The updated assessment resources for carrying out a business activity are now simplified and user friendly. There are straightforward templates for students to use to show evidence of carrying out and evaluating their business activity. The inclusion of an Annual Review in place of an Annual Report allows students to evaluate the sustainability of their business activity. The information included in the Annual Review will then assist students when individually evaluating their business for AS3.6” Lucy wymer, Member of the Teacher working Party.

to participate.

Well done to the enterprising schools that are doing their own fundraising so that they don’t miss out on the Challenge!

4. Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme: Simple, user friendly Assessment

resources for Achievement Standards

The availability of business studies Level 3 Achievement Standards in 2012 opened up an exciting new assessment pathway for teachers delivering YES. A working party of YES teachers trialed draft resources for selected standards with YES in 2012 and at the end of 2012 met to review and update these resources. The reviewed resources incorporate their changes as well as feedback from Business Studies moderators. We are confident that the updated resources will provide you with robust assessment material to use alongside the generic YES teaching resources and programme structure delivered by your YES coordinator.

For the internal standards relating to carrying out a business activity (AS2.6 and AS3.6), a student workbook incorporates templates for gathering required evidence of the business activity, as well as the assessment for the standard. The assessment resources are supported by some teaching power points that complement the podcasts on business start-up introduced last year.

Rather than produce and sell student workbooks, we have made the resources available free so that schools can print their own resources cost effectively.

Some changes have also been made to the YES programme to make it fit as seamlessly as possible for both the YE Certificate and the Achievement Standard credit pathway. The major change is in the Annual Report which has traditionally been compiled by all teams at

the end of Term 3. This has been changed to an Annual Review where students will now complete a review of their business activity which will showcase and reflect upon their company achievements in innovation, sustainability, marketing and sales, human resources, operations and finances. This Annual Review will be submitted along with a copy of the company business plan for judging for the YES National Awards at the end of Term 3. The updated resources for AS3.6 include the guidelines and marking criteria for the Annual Review.

In Term One, work will also be completed on resources to support the internal assessment of the Level 3 Human Resource standard (AS3.3). This year the YES exam will include a question on a Human Resource issue so that teachers can utilize this excellent case study examination as an assessment tool. Changes to the exam duration, to match the NCEA examinations, will allow students sufficient time to complete an answer with sufficient depth to achieve the standard. The examination changes, which will be notified in the Education

Gazette, include a shift to a three hour exam with four questions on: human resources; leadership & managing resources; marketing; and innovation. This provides teachers with another choice of internal achievement standard for delivery through YES.

The YE Certificate continues to be offered with approval for 24 credit equivalents for the NCEA until March 2014. (Please note that from the 2015 university year only achievement standards will be accepted toward the common entrance standard as notified to Principals nominees.)

All of our assessment resources are complimented by the YES teacher manual and credit pathways are fully explained in the Qualification Manual. Please take some time to check out all of the teaching resources that support enterprise education in both the teacher and student resources. We are delighted to offer all resources, including assessments, free of charge to all registered YES teachers for 2013. These are downloadable from our online resource centre. ■

www.youngenterprise.org.nz14

CONNECTING BUSINESSwITH SCHOOLS

Lance Hutchison was the mentor for the winning 2012 Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme,

Caring & Co, from Manurewa College. We caught up with Lance during the holidays, to find out more about the life and times of a YES mentor!

EM: Well done on a successful YES year Lance. What skills or attributes do you need to be a mentor?LH: You need to be able to help drive them, motivate them, ‘show’ them, take a deep interest in the project and ride the highs & lows with them.

Having networks is a big help. No matter what their business product is, being able to point them in the right direction really gets them going. Without fail, the contacts they were dealing with commented on the confidence and determination of the group.

You need to be a good listener. Some of their ideas can help you in your own work! I found the team had very enquiring minds and asked lots of what, why, how & when questions. If I had some ideas I would always ask “what do you think of this?” and then let them chew over and brainstorm a variety of issues and tactics, so that they could have ownership of the whole project.

You need to know what commitment will be required as a mentor, especially time wise. I am a little fortunate in that I work for an employer, ASB Bank, who are focussed on the Community, and see mentoring work in schemes like the Young Enterprise Scheme as a personal

development tool. They are flexible if I need some time during business hours and resources to work with the student team.

EM: What does a mentor provide to the students?LH: Someone they can trust and rely on is important. In conjunction with the teacher, be a ‘go to’ person for anything. Helping to source information, guidance, connect with business leaders for advice, accounting, banking, media contacts.....anything that may help them in putting their project together. Advice on presentation skills will help too, but most of all, provide encouragement at all steps of the way.

EM: How do you prepare to be an effective mentor?LH: I personally learnt as much as I could about the Young Enterprise Scheme, and, as a personal mentor for one of the team in particular, I was able to learn more about the school, the business teacher and Principal, and I made a point of meeting them all first.

EM: Does a mentor need to be an expert in everything?LH: No, because we were all in this together from the beginning. I was the sounding board, and if we needed to know something, I was able to use connections to guide us.

EM: Is there a need for a general mentor, and an expert advisor for specialist help?

LH: If each team has a hands on mentor, the resources between the group, mentor, school teacher and their connections will get them there. I think a major part of the learning of Young Enterprise Scheme is being enterprising enough to find these things yourself. The best groups do this well, and perform accordingly.

EM: How important is it that the mentor has some experience in the product/market sector of the student’s business?LH: I had no experience at all in Olive Oil, apart from using it! We all learnt along the way, the product could have been anything. The key learnings were around differentiation, following with precision their production process, marketing, promotion, distribution, designing labels, profit ratios, following deadlines and client satisfaction. They loved it!

EM: What do you do if the students get stuck, or things go wrong?LH: This is likely to happen more than once throughout the year! It is best to sit down as a group, with the teacher, outline the problem, and then brainstorm options before deciding the way forward as a team. It works.

EM: To what extent do you need to motivate students? How do you motivate the students?LH: The students have a very busy High School Year, and I think this is the biggest hurdle. They WANT to succeed, but need to balance the Young Enterprise Scheme, school work, sports, Church, social life and

An interview with YES Mentor Lance Hutchison

www. youngenterprise.org.nz 15

work. It’s a big ask so an important aspect for the mentor is giving constant positive feedback & support. Celebrate every little milestone along the way.

EM: How much time is needed, and is more time required at certain times of the year?LH: I set aside 2 or 3 hours a week on average. Some periods of the project do require more intense periods, and most of my time was after school or on weekends.

EM: What if the students need to meet with you and you are out of town for a week?LH: I found this no issue. They always knew of my whereabouts, and, if we couldn’t meet in person there are many options! I was in Australia the weekend of the Trade Fair, and they texted me hourly updates & photos of their fantastic stall.

EM: Where is it best to meet the students?LH: Their own environment, I feel, is better. They always made appointments for me if the session was during school hours. Other times, for example when a photo shoot was needed, we had Board meetings at ASB headquarters. After events like Dragon’s Den or launch

presentations the teacher & I would treat them to a quick dinner.

EM: How much contact or communication do you need with the teacher?LH: We had an amazing working relationship, Emma is passionate about her teams, and went way outside her normal hours to help them. We were in nearly daily contact with communications, especially when things were heating up! It was fun.

EM: What do you get out of being a mentor? LH: The main driver for me was a real interest in being part of a dynamic, enthusiastic bunch of High School students who were really keen to be successful, and who had the passion and determination to get first hand experience of the big wide business world. All this whilst achieving results in their business studies at High School. I didn’t find the task onerous, in fact, it was the most enjoyable part of my year.

EM: As a mentor, what do you see the students get out of participating in YES?

LH: I watched this group of five students develop during the year into confident, happy, successful and proud young teenagers. The results they achieved were phenomenal, and by taking out a raft of National Honours they have done themselves, their school, their school community, their families and their Mana proud!

EM: Any advice to people considering being a mentor?LH: If you want to see what the majority of our senior High School students are REALLY like - their attitudes, work ethics, morals, enthusiasm and their loyalty, then take up YOUR challenge and become a mentor. You will get plenty of satisfaction out of it, and you’ll make some neat, new young friends who will be really appreciative of your support.

If you would like more information about mentoring for the Young Enterprise Scheme, or know someone who would like to be a mentor please contact us at support@youngenterprise.org.nz ■

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS

Thanks to our fantastic sponsors and supporters. None of what you have seen in this magazine would be possible without them. If you would like to know more about how you can help, please go to www.youngenterprise.org.nz

16

IMPORTANTdATES

www.youngenterprise.org.nz

PRIMARY ENTERPRISE TEACHER PD – TERM 1

Location Date

Auckland Tuesday 26th February, 2013

Hamilton Wednesday 27th February, 2013

Tauranga Thursday 28th February, 2013

Wellington Tuesday 5th March, 2013

Napier Wednesday 6th March, 2013

Palmerston North Tuesday 12th March, 2013

Nelson Friday 15th March, 2013

Christchurch Monday 18th March, 2013

Dunedin Tuesday 19th March, 2012

Invercargill Wednesday 20th March, 2012

Register for the PD here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KMBLQY5

TEACHER PD WEBINARS – TERM 1

All webinars run from 4.15pm – 5pm

Date Webinar Relevant to Programme For teachers at Year Level

Thursday 21st February Using Young Enterprise Scheme to deliver Achievement Standards 12-13

Wednesday 27th February YES - How to mark Achievement Standards 12-13

Thursday 28th February Enterprise in your curriculum – what it means and what to do about it. 9-13

Tuesday 5th March How to run Junior Enterprise and Community competitions 9-10

Wednesday 13th March Using Start Up to deliver and assess level 1 Bus Stds A/S 10-11

Tuesday 26th March Engage your year 10’s with the DairyNZ Get Ahead Challenge competition 10

Tuesday 9th April YES Mentoring – tips and tricks 12-13

Watch your inbox for your invitations to register for these Webinars, or email support@youngenterprise.org.nz detailing which webinar(s) you would like to attend.

YOUNG ENTERPRISE SCHEME E-DAYS ARE HAPPENING THROUGH FEBRUARY AND MARCH

Check with your local regional YES co-ordinator for dates and locations of your event.

www. youngenterprise.org.nz 17

“

Visit www.youngenterprise.org.nz Subscribe to Enterprise Matters for Free & receive your own copy four times a year

“ A person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the man doing it.

Chinese Proverb

THE CLOSE