We identified two major initiatives we wanted to implement in order to achieve this: increasing the number of Roaming Teachers; and focusing on our digital strategy. Needless to say, it was a busy but rewarding year.

Roaming Teachers a hit in the classroom

Roaming Teachers act as a helping hand to all teachers wanting to teach students about enterprise. Roaming Teachers help classroom teachers to introduce enterprise programmes and resources into their classes. They also assist with assessments and support both schools that are new to Young Enterprise and our existing schools.  The aim is to have classroom teachers that are confident and knowledgeable in what they are teaching.

The evidence and anecdotal feedback regarding our first Roaming Teacher was fantastic. Lucy Wymer was funded by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, and has worked with schools that have large numbers of Pasifika students. We have seen an increase in the number of schools and students using Young Enterprise resources, and also an increase in the students’ achievements in NCEA. Following that successful pilot, we were fortunate enough to receive funding from Minister Kaye and the Youth Enterprise Fund in 2015 to fund an additional three roaming teachers for 2016 and 2017.

Young Enterprise goes digital

The whole concept of digital engagement and e-learning has really taken off over the last few years and Young Enterprise wanted to be at the forefront of this movement. One of the biggest external changes we implemented in 2015 was our new website, which launched in December. The website comes as part of our larger digital strategy and is designed to align Young Enterprise with the changing needs of students and educators alike.

The website allows teachers to access resources in real time, search our resources using filters and sign up for events in one centralised location. In addition, the website also provides information for members of the public who want to find out about Young Enterprise, sign up to events, and become a volunteer.

But that’s not all, folks

Roaming Teachers and the digital strategy were not our only focus areas in 2015. Here are some more highlights:

• Overall we worked with 18% more teachers and 14% more schools than we did in 2014. We now have 600+ schools and over 1000 teachers using our resources.
• We ran a second, very successful, “It’s Business Time” conference where 150 teachers came for two days of inspiration and professional development.
• We introduced a new series of “Pick Up and Go” resources for our primary and intermediate schools
• We strengthened the work we are doing in junior secondary schools with our EPIC Challenge and BizNinja programmes.

We also quantified the impact we do through our YES student survey which measured not just the business skill learnt but the life skills, confidence, impact on pathways and entrepreneurial spirit, and our students succeeded yet again on the international stage, winning the Asia Pacific title at the FedEx/Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge.

2015 was a great year for us, but we’re aiming for more in 2016. It’s incredible to think we are already half way through the year, and our student companies are starting to come to life – stay tuned for their exploits next month.

This article was originally published in NZ Entrepreneur.

The full 2015 annual report is also available to download.