Young Enterprise Scotland has welcomed £2,500 of funding from UKSE, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, that will help young people in Ayrshire gain experience in setting up and running their own businesses.

The Company Programme is Young Enterprise Scotland’s most established project and has been running for more than three decades. The voluntary scheme sees groups of S5 and S6 pupils across Scotland establish and manage their own businesses throughout the academic year, undertaking every aspect of running a business from creating the branding to managing finances. Pupils then go on to sell their products at local markets, fairs, and a dedicated online shop.

UKSE has supported Young Enterprise Scotland since 2016 and to date has donated £25,000 to enable its Company Programme to take place across Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Glasgow.

This year, 193 young people from eight schools across Ayrshire have signed up for the programme with the backing of the UKSE funding. Participating schools include Arran High School, Doon Academy, Robert Burns Academy, Marr College, Prestwick Academy, Kilmarnock Academy, Greenwood Academy and Stewarton Academy.

In partnership with the individual schools, Young Enterprise Scotland supports pupils to develop their entrepreneurial skills with a dedicated Volunteer Business Adviser who regularly meets with the teams. Importantly, the programme helps young people start to consider their higher education and career paths, whilst simultaneously promoting positive skills, such as teamwork, budgeting, and public speaking.

The competition culminates in a regional final in March 2024, where student companies battle to be crowned Scottish YE Company of the Year and can go on to compete in the UK and European Company Programme Final.

Last year, pupils at Stewarton Academy won the regional heat with their business, Corsehill Craft, which specialised in wooden gifts and kitchen items.

Emily Bennett, funding manager at Young Enterprise Scotland, said: “Young Enterprise Scotland has spent over 30 years advocating for the importance of enterprise education, and the need for young people to have transferable skills, resilience, creativity, and confidence.

“The generous funding from UKSE will help to support young people across schools in Ayrshire, giving them the chance to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-life scenarios, develop essential skills, gain real experience of the world of work, and acquire valuable insight from a volunteer mentor. We are very grateful for their contribution.”

Scott Webb, regional manager at UKSE, said: “Giving young people the tools that they need to thrive in the workplace is vital, and Young Enterprise Scotland’s Company Programme offers a practical means to develop such skills with expert support. I’m really excited to see what these enterprising young people produce in their time with the programme.”

Several of this year’s Ayrshire teams will showcase their products at a Christmas Fair in Rivergate Shopping Centre in Irvine on Friday 15 December between 1-5pm.