Young Enterprise winners to represent Jersey in regional finals

Wednesday 13 June 2018

Young Enterprise company ‘ToBe’ will travel to the UK today to represent Jersey in the Young Enterprise Regional Finals with the hope of reaching the national, and then perhaps the European finals, later this year.

ToBe took the top honours in Jersey’s Young Enterprise 2018 competition last month, after developing and printing a calendar and book filled with recipes from local chefs and hospitality businesses.

The team, made up of students from the island's year 12 classes, received support from a team of business advisors from Barclays. They were announced as the Best Overall Company having impressed the judging panel with a formal presentation, a trade stand and an informal presentation to the assembled audience. They also won awards for Best Sales and Marketing, Best Administered Company and Best Managing Director.

Alexia McClure, Chair of Young Enterprise Jersey said: "Jersey’s competition night is the pinnacle of the local Young Enterprise year when the teams present their achievements to a panel of local business leaders. But as winners of the Best Overall Company Awards, ToBe get a further the opportunity in front of a UK audience and judging panel, to showcase their business journey and the new skills they have developed from participating in the programme." 

Pictured: A total of 60 students split in five teams took part in Young Enterprise this year.

Young Enterprise has supported 60 students from Hautlieu, Victoria College, Jersey College for Girls, Beaulieu and De la Salle in five teams during 2018. Each team, made up of a mix of students from all the schools, started a Young Enterprise company in October. Since then, they have been running their business, developing a product, delivering a sales and marketing plan and administering the company and its finances.

The other big winner at the local competition night was ‘Stick-Z’ who won Best Product or Service and Best Presentation. Supported by business advisors from RBC, they designed and printed stickers for recharger plugs, "allowing our customers to personalise their technology with unique and fun sticker designs."

Other products created by the Young Enterprise teams included hand designed and printed necklaces by Capitus, printed tee-shirts by Dynasty and events by DICE. 

Pictured: The teams' tradestands.

Graeme Smith, CEO of Jersey Business and one of the judges said: "In deciding on the award winners the judges looked not only at the financial performance of the business but also how the teams worked together, their creativity and innovation in product design and their initiative in sale and marketing. All the teams have shown remarkable resilience, adaptability and drive in setting up and establishing their businesses over a relatively short time. Seeing the enthusiasm and potential shown by many of the Young Enterprise achievers I know that Jersey’s future is bright."