The SPEED-You-UP Young Entrepreneur Project is a WSX project that has been running since September 2020, headed up by Coordinator and Trainer Adriana Crear.
The aim of the Programme is to improve the employability and entrepreneurial skills of young unemployed people aged 16 to 25 who are either attending school or stopped their formal education.
In specially created hubs, learners are required to attend a minimum of 5 self-employment training sessions followed by participation in a Business Pop-Up event. They also have a chance of meeting inspirational business people from the programme’s stakeholders at the training sessions and Pop-Up events.
The project, which is European funded, will end in March 2023 and has been running simultaneously in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.
So far over 200 learners have attended the SPEED-You-UP sessions delivered by Adriana at schools and outside school organisations.
2022 has been particularly busy. In January, WSX started training delivery in the Farnborough 6th Form College and the learners are now preparing for a Pitching and Pop-Up event to be held in April. In February, there was a successful Pop-Up event at the Future Skills Centre in Bordon where over 40 construction students showcased 7 newly created Pop-Up Businesses.
Farnborough 6th form SYU session
future skills Pop-Up event
Camberley SYU session
Future skills Pop-Up event
Treloar’s Pop-Up event
Kings College Pop-Up event
Treloar’s Pop-Up event
Treloar’s Pop-Up event
Kings International Pop-Up event
Two Business Pop-Up events followed In March. One of them was at Treloar’s school for young people with disabilities where 11 learners created 3 impressive businesses. One of which involved selling a specially written and printed International Cookery Book inspired by their multinational team of carers and teachers. The students made a total profit of £200 and all the funds were put towards those affected by the war in Ukraine.
Another March Pop-Up event was held at King’s international College in Camberley. Here, 7 learners created 5 unique business Pop-Ups and sold sweets and jewellery at the school’s gate on a Friday afternoon. Each Pop-Up made a profit of over £60 and was attended by a staggering number of 700 students who made purchases after their lessons had finished.
Also in March Adriana delivered a day’s training at Camberley’s Employability Hub and attended a job fair in Farnborough’s Princess Mead as well as an information event at North Hants Employability Hub in the Karuna Coffee Shop in Aldershot.
WSX Enterprise LTD
A non-profit organisation WSX Enterprise runs a wide range of projects delivering business support across the South of England as well as working with partners in Europe. As some examples, our projects support access to finance, digital skills, start-up guidance, and general business advice. Our team includes a wide range of business advisors from a breadth of industry experience supporting small and medium-sized businesses across our region.
