OVER the summer, ROOTS POD Academy teamed up with Harlow Council, NWES and Harlow College to deliver six free workshops for young people interested in Becoming An Entrepreneur. The workshops were aimed at young people aged 14-24 and were geared towards giving them an introduction to the basic skills needed to run a business, as well as engaging them in positive action that would equip them with life skills for the future.

Each week attendees were introduced – via talks and practical sessions – to a different topic on how to start, run and maintain a business. While many of the young people who attended were primarily curious to see what, if anything of value, they could take away from the workshops, the 21 who attended were not disappointed, and one 14 year-old attendee said he wished he had told his friends to come along, so that they too could have benefitted from the workshops’ content.

Over the course of the programme, three workshops a day were delivered by ROOTS POD Academy founder, Althea Blake, NWES Business Advisor Chris Chapman and a variety of Essex business owners who volunteered their time to share their expertise with these young entrepreneurs in training.

The various presentations shared with the Group included business planning, digital marketing, financial forecasting and much more. Practical group activities included tasks to encourage the development of a practical business mindset, creating business video ads from a brief, calculating social media budgets and planning social media strategies, to name but a few.

As well as introducing attendees to the practical skills required to run a business, Althea believes it is important to provide life skills that can improve their chances of success upon entering the world of work, such as time management, how to plan and implement goal setting in bite-sized chunks, and how to improve and maintain focus. Althea believes that all of the above skills not only help to increase young people’s confidence levels, but additionally helps to build strong, forward thinking characters, who, in turn, can learn to view themselves as part of a wider community and make positive contributions to society, helping to build cohesive and inclusive communities for all to live, work and enjoy life.

Although our focus was local, the workshops attracted young people from Essex and North, West and South London too.

Over the coming weeks we will evaluate the success of the workshops, while making plans to roll out more practical programmes to support the young people of Harlow and surrounding areas in building better futures for themselves and their families.Over the summer, ROOTS POD Academy teamed up with Harlow Council, NWES and Harlow College to deliver six free workshops for young people interested in Becoming An Entrepreneur. The workshops were aimed at young people aged 14-24 and were geared towards giving them an introduction to the basic skills needed to run a business, as well as engaging them in positive action that would equip them with life skills for the future.

Each week attendees were introduced – via talks and practical sessions – to a different topic on how to start, run and maintain a business. While many of the young people who attended were primarily curious to see what, if anything of value, they could take away from the workshops, the 21 who attended were not disappointed, and one 14 year-old attendee said he wished he had told his friends to come along, so that they too could have benefitted from the workshops’ content.

Over the course of the programme, three workshops a day were delivered by ROOTS POD Academy founder, Althea Blake, NWES Business Advisor Chris Chapman and a variety of Essex business owners who volunteered their time to share their expertise with these young entrepreneurs in training.

The various presentations shared with the Group included business planning, digital marketing, financial forecasting and much more. Practical group activities included tasks to encourage the development of a practical business mindset, creating business video ads from a brief, calculating social media budgets and planning social media strategies, to name but a few.

As well as introducing attendees to the practical skills required to run a business, Althea believes it is important to provide life skills that can improve their chances of success upon entering the world of work, such as time management, how to plan and implement goal setting in bite-sized chunks, and how to improve and maintain focus. Althea believes that all of the above skills not only help to increase young people’s confidence levels, but additionally helps to build strong, forward thinking characters, who, in turn, can learn to view themselves as part of a wider community and make positive contributions to society, helping to build cohesive and inclusive communities for all to live, work and enjoy life.

Although our focus was local, the workshops attracted young people from Essex and North, West and South London too.

Over the coming weeks we will evaluate the success of the workshops, while making plans to roll out more practical programmes to support the young people of Harlow and surrounding areas in building better futures for themselves and their families.