Times have changed. Gone are the days where we used to ask our children, “So what do you want to be when you grow up?”. Now we are asking ourselves, “How are my children going to get a job when they grow up?”, Because over the last decade, young people between the ages of 15-34 make up approximately 70% of total unemployment. We, therefore, need to create young entrepreneurs to equip them for the future and give them a head start in life. Young Entrepreneurs assist parents with this fundamental task.
What is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is a person who chooses not to be an employee but instead to run their own business. To do this successfully one needs to possess specific trained skills.
What is a Young Entrepreneur?
Young entrepreneurs are children who have acquired these trained skills. They are money smart. Being money smart means that they can make effective money management decisions like how to earn money, save for short and long-term goals, spending choices and the consequences of those choices. He or she is also business-minded, skillful, socially aware, motivated, confident, creative, diligent, resilient, innovative and responsible. A young entrepreneur smiles at the future because they possess the keys to success.
What Do We at Young Entrepreneurs Do?
Besides the scarcity of work, the education system frequently fails to adequately equip our children for life after school. The Young Entrepreneurs programmes fill the gap by developing in our children vital entrepreneurial, financial literacy, employability and workplace readiness skills in a fun and experiential way. We empower and capacitate our children to be the authors of their own destiny. Our children may not all end up starting their own businesses, but they will possess the skills employers will be looking for in an employee in a saturated market.
Our programmes are designed to promote financial literacy, encourage entrepreneurial thinking and spark the enterprising spirit in young people. Classes are conducted in small groups to ensure that each kid’s creativity is supported and that the intended knowledge and experience is ignited.
We EduTain our children, which means that we educate through entertainment and play. Our content, format and activities have been developed by local and international professionals to accommodate multiple learning styles and ensure that while we make business fun for kids, we deliver key learning objectives and teach real-life business and money lessons.
What Programs Do Young Entrepreneurs Offer?
Young Entrepreneurs offer two different types of programs, which run for 15 weeks each. There is an Entrepreneurship program and a Financial literacy program, which is called Centsable. Our ages are divided into 7 to 8-year-olds, 9 to 12-year-olds and 13 to 17-year-olds. Take a look at the type of content we cover in each age group:
Entrepreneurial Literacy
Minipreneurs (7-8 years)
In the foundation phase we use characters, stories, presentations, interactive tools and play to help understand money and business, and develop basic financial literacy, self-confidence, self-expression, resilience and interpersonal skills.
Kidpreneurs (9-12 years)
This programme guides elementary school children through the process of setting up a business and selling their own products. The students receive a “Business in a Backpack” that provides the raw materials and resources to make a product and launch a fully-fledged micro-enterprise. Yes, we take them through the whole entrepreneurial process – deciding on a product; naming the business; branding the business; market research; prototyping and production; costing; creating marketing material and selling.
BizTeens (13-17 years)
Our children start a “real” business that can sustain itself throughout their high school years and even after that. Students will be exposed to the processes and traits/behaviours associated with entrepreneurial success. They will also acquire the fundamental business knowledge and skills that are prerequisites for becoming a successful entrepreneur and learn the business activities performed by entrepreneurs in managing the business, including financial management, human resource management, information management, marketing management, operations management, risk management, and strategic management. Even if these students do not continue to become entrepreneurs, the skills developed through this programme will boost their workplace readiness.
Be Centsable (Financial Literacy)
Minipreneurs (7-8 years)
We allow kids to “experience” money and gain relevant knowledge about money – where it comes from and the choices they have in either saving, spending or sharing it. They learn key features and differences in our coins and banknotes; where money comes from; the flow of money; what banks do; different methods to pay for things; differentiating between needs & wants; setting money goals; understanding a budget; the importance of saving money; the balance between spending and saving; and the significance of sharing.
Kidpreneurs (9-12 years)
Our children in this group are exposed to a broad range of topics that will expand their knowledge about responsible money management within the context of a bigger economic system. Some of the main topics that are covered, include: How the economy works; key functions of banks in relation to lending and borrowing; understanding tax; comparing various payment methods; the earning potential of various jobs; currency conversions; needs & wants in perspective; setting short- and long-term financial goals; the different categories within a budget; saving money & the different options in this regard; to be a smart shopper & assessing value for money; the importance of charitable giving; and understand what investment means and options in this regard.
BizTeens age 13-17
This programme recognises that teenagers are severe spenders and that it is essential to instill proper financial management practices and habits. Lessons in this programme focus on the following topics: The importance of financial management; the odds of winning with gambling from a probability perspective; responsible spending to improve the quality of life of others and to protect the environment; standard of living, quality of life and cost of living explained; currency and international trade; the economy revealed; the different forms of tax and how they are calculated; credit and Debit Cards – the good, the bad and the ugly; possible career options, the impact of education and earning potential; understanding saving from a simple and compound interest perspective; evaluate monetary and non-monetary forms of giving; understanding investment growth, losses, risk and reward by developing and tracking a stock portfolio; and what insurance is and how it works?
YE provides the opportunities to develop skills our children will need to succeed in the working world and determine their path into the future… we truly believe that Entrepreneurial skills (and mindset) will be the skills required to survive in the future. Parents cannot wake up and try to empower them when they are in grade 12. It’s going to be too late!
How Do I Sign Up My Future Young Entrepreneur for 2018?
Contact Ansulene Prinsloo for more information on 083 300 6118 or email her at info.pe@younge.co.za
Picture credit: Freepik
