�Enterprise Advisers� pilot launched in Leeds City Region

11.02.15

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has secured new funding to develop a network of business volunteers who will help foster and encourage entrepreneurial skills within secondary schools across Leeds City Region.

£100,000 has been secured to bring together schools and business leaders to support and develop talent in young people, with a specific focus upon entrepreneurship and working in a small business environment. The advisers will focus on working with senior leaders and school governors to ensure students have access to information and activities across the curriculum that will help them develop employability and enterprise skills for the future.

Roger Marsh, Chair of the LEP said: “Enterprise Advisers will play an important role in the LEP’s ongoing mission to develop a flexible and skilled workforce for the future.

“There is a clear demand for this support from both the schools and business community and the LEP is driven to ensure our young people are fully equipped with the skills and experience they need to succeed after education.

“Our aim is to harness the enthusiasm and skills of talented business leaders to engage young people and develop the next generation of entrepreneurs - driving the growth that will fuel the powerhouse of the north.”

Councillor David Green, Deputy Chair of the LEP’s Employment and Skills Panel said: “Enterprise Advisers will enhance the future employability of young people, and provide employers with the business-ready workforce needed for the modern and growing economy in the Leeds City Region.

“We will work with our partners to identify existing support and potential gaps where this programme can develop. In time, we aim to ensure this programme acts as a catalyst for a more embedded approach to enterprise and business engagement in the curriculum,”

The LEP will work with local authorities, business organisations and enterprise education providers to identify and develop a network of advisers and match them with schools in the region. Enterprise Advisers will help to embed practical enterprise and employability skills within schools, helping pupils prepare for their future in a fast-changing job market. They will also aim to offer head teachers practical ideas and support about how best to deliver enterprise in education within their schools.

Leeds City Region is one of only six LEP areas chosen by Government to develop the Enterprise Advisers Pilot recommended by Lord Young in his report “Enterprise for All”. This programme will build on the work of the LEP’s Enterprise in Education Task Group which has already undertaken exploratory work on the enterprise curriculum and has developed materials to support young people who wish to explore business start-up or self-employment upon leaving education.

If you are interested in becoming an Enterprise Adviser or would like more information on how the LEP can support your school or business, please email Jane Walton: EnterpriseAdvisers@the-lep.com