Learning to work were proud to be the South East regional delivery partner for the Princes Trust Enterprise Challenge 2020. We delivered the challenge to 580 students, across 8 schools, with help from 52 business mentors. Feedback from the students, teachers and mentors was fantastic! 
 
At all schools, teachers praised the engagement of the students. They were particularly pleased that students who are often disengaged during normal school activities were taking a lead in the Business Simulation game. They also commented on the enterprise skills the students gained and how the challenge had sparked students’ interest in taking Business Studies as a GCSE option. 
 
" The Enterprise Challenge was like nothing else our students had been exposed to. Students really did develop their team working and presentation skills. They loved the whole experience but especially the comradery they developed through playing the game. They left the session buzzing!" - Monica Davey, Slough & Eton 
 
“The session I was in was really engaging and the girls were clearly having fun. A range of skills were being developed amongst team work, problem solving, trial and error and the girls did really well and were able to monitor gradual progress for a business concept they had created.” 
- Teacher, Eden Girls 
 
Students were highly competitive and desperate to know who will get through to the Regional Finals and be in with a chance of winning the amazing prizes. Even when students didn’t gain the scores they’d hoped for they learnt a lot from the game. 
 
“Regardless of the results, the main highlight was the positive attitude they showed and the desire to learn and overcome the initial bad results. The future seems in good hands!!” - Maria Castro – Finance – Vestel 
 
When asked what they’d learnt students said: 
 
“Resilience! We went bankrupt, but we learnt from it and did a lot better in the final game” - Slough & Eton 
“Teamwork and problem solving skills. We weren’t listening to each other at the start, but we got a lot better.” - Ditton Park Academy 
 
The business mentors gained a lot from the experience too. 
 
“The Learning to Work program was a fascinating experience, not only for the students taking part, but also for the coaches who volunteered their time. I have rarely seen such passion and engagement of real business concepts, especially amongst young adults. The format of the program is clear, concise, and compelling, rewarding those who invest their time and attention. The program effectively mimics the commercial world around us, and helps prepare a new generation for business awareness and success.” - Michael Fox, Head of Business Solution Strategy Team - VMware Inc. 
 
“It has been an exhilarating experience with the Enterprise Challenge.. Even though the students played the game, I could feel the nerve-wrecking excitement within myself as a Mentor. Some pupils were way too smart than I could imagine and for the less-experienced ones, it was a pleasure to explain them the basic business concepts with the aid of the game. Mentoring them gave me a sense of achievement as I felt I have value-added to their capabilities and wisdom. Princes Trust Enterprise Challenge is definitely worth every penny ” - Kavita Khandelwal, Projects and Programme Practice - Computacenter 
 
 
“Great fun, good to see the level of ability in the children, they paid attention and grew during the process as individuals and a team. They listened well and it showed in their progressively increasing results. Thank you for inviting us to participate. I hope the children got as much from it as I did.” Paul Ashford, Technical Sales - Vestel 
 
"I would love to say that I was under the impression that we were at the event to inspire them to do well, instead it was the children that inspired me and reminded me why I do what I do. It is my opinion that this is a truly great event run by Learning to Work and one that more companies need to volunteer for! They are our future!” - Emily Groom, HR Administrator – Biffa 
 
Tagged as: Mentoring, Volunteering
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