The Westminster Foundation and Young Enterprise, a national enterprise and financial education charity, are proud to announce a strategic partnership that will empower thousands of young people across key locations in England to develop critical enterprise, work readiness, and financial skills, supporting them to thrive.
From September 2021 and running across academic years until July 2026, state primary and secondary schools, and colleges, will have access to Young Enterprise’s impactful and practical education programmes for their young people. This has all been made possible by a transformational investment in Young Enterprise by The Westminster Foundation.
Young Enterprise will deliver initiatives such as Company Programme, where young people are inspired to set up and run a student company under the guidance of a business volunteer from the world of work, and Innovation Studios, which challenges young people to solve real-life business problems.
By participating in the programmes, young people will have the opportunity to develop key skills, including:
- Employability competencies – communication, confidence, financial capability, creativity, organisation, problem solving, resilience, resourcefulness, adaptability, and teamwork.
- Personal development competencies – aspirations, working responsibly, understanding of the world of work (primary students) and work readiness (secondary students).
‘Young Enterprise has opened up a whole new opportunity for my future that I can’t wait to explore.’ – Tayla, YE Company Programme alumna (2019/20 academic year), discusses her experiences here.
The partnership will support an incremental growth plan for Young Enterprise programmes in places where the Westminster Foundation focuses its work, namely Chester and Cheshire West, the borough of Westminster in London, and areas in rural Lancashire (primarily communities that border the Forest of Bowland). It will also enable the advancement of new primary school programmes with the potential for national roll out.
Crucially, it will also provide the time over five years to enable the professional development of a critical mass of teachers, senior leaders, and support staff to truly embed enterprise and financial education into the school curriculum, ensuring it is accessed by every future cohort of young people. After the five-year programme, schools will be empowered with enhanced knowledge and be part of an active local network sharing their learning to improve the future of financial and enterprise education across their communities.
The Duke of Westminster, Chair of the Westminster Foundation, says: “Just like Young Enterprise, the Westminster Foundation passionately believe that young people can make an invaluable contribution to the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery and the future world of work. They have the resourcefulness and resilience, but they need the opportunity and support to be able to fully make that contribution. I’m delighted that my foundation is partnering with Young Enterprise to help young people achieve that.”
Sharon Davies, Chief Executive at Young Enterprise, adds: “At Young Enterprise we believe that meaningful opportunities, combined with appropriate support to develop and apply an enterprising mindset and skills, change young people’s futures.
However, more and more young people are not getting the fair start in life that they deserve. This is why Young Enterprise is so thrilled to partner with the Westminster Foundation to unlock young people’s great potential. We are extremely grateful to the Duke of Westminster, his fellow Trustees, and the Foundation team for their belief in our work.
We share the Westminster Foundation’s commitment to developing young people’s resilience, aspirations, and social mobility. Our five-year transformational partnership will benefit communities in Cheshire, rural Lancashire and London, addressing the greatest impacts from the pandemic with long term support.”
Young Enterprise and The Westminster Foundation are excited to engage even more young people in learning pathways to support brighter futures over the next five years.
If you’re a state primary or secondary school, or college in the priority areas (Westminster in London, Chester and Cheshire West, or areas within rural Lancashire) and you would be interested to learn more about the project, please contact Sally Hopkins, Young Enterprise Project Manager on 07841 880988 or sally.hopkins@y-e.org.uk. Places in year one are limited but will increase over the duration of the project. As this is a five-year project, we very much hope to be able to work with as many schools and their young people over the five years as possible.
