Learning for the future

By Kay Kevlihan

Never before has a spirit of entrepreneurship in our young people been more important. They hold the key to job creation for future generations. In Kerry, that spirit is being fostered in a structured programme that takes training in entrepreneurship to a new level.

Young people are going to need enterprising qualities to survive the current economic climate. They are more likely to have a rewarding professional life if they are the kind of people who are go-getters with ideas and make them happen rather than if they are just cogs in someone else's machine." So says Kerry entrepreneur Jerry Kennelly, co-founder of the Youth Entrepreneur Programme.

What is YEP?

The Young Entrepreneur Programme (YEP) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship as a career choice. It is the brainchild of Jerry Kennelly and has been developed by Tralee Institute of Technology and the Kerry Technology Park. It has been in existence for two years with 17 schools in Kerry and IT Tralee now taking part and it is planned to expand it further.

Kennelly's business history is legendary. He started out as a photojournalist in 1981 and went on to found Stockbyte and Stockdisc, two companies based in Tralee that within 10 years captured 10% of the global market in royalty-free stock photography.

The YEP programme complements traditional learning through workshops, case studies and interaction with key business leaders, on top of participants' own ideas. Three-day teacher-training programmes are provided and mentors, who also undergo training, are assigned to each school. A base camp to facilitate online communication between all the parties involved is provided, along with a website and a very informative programme guide, Entrepreneurship made Simple.

It seems it is never too young to sow the seeds of entrepreneurship and next year YEP will be introduced to primary schools in the county. Co-founder of YEP Breda O'Dwyer, who is Head of Entrepreneurship and Entreprise Development at IT Tralee and senior lecturer in marketing and entrepreneurship says: "As part of the Shannon Consortium, we also plan to roll out the Young Enterpreneur Programme in two years' time to University of Limerick, Limerick Institute of Technology and Mary Immaculate College, Limerick."

Future growth

With the business environment in Ireland changing rapidly, Kennelly believes it is vital that home-grown industry is encouraged to ensure future economic growth and competitiveness. "In the current economic climate, the YEP is a prime example of Irish education and business taking positive action."

Boot camp

In January, YEP students took part in a business boot camp at IT Tralee where they focused on the key elements of their business plan. The culmination of the programme will be an exam held in March, on which students will be graded externally and will receive a Certificate of Entrepreneurship.

30 April is a red-letter day on these young entrepreneurs' calendars. It is the date when one student will become Young Entrepreneur 2009. The prize is impressive - a trip with their educator to California to meet Apple co-founder Guy Kawasaki.

They will also visit the Googleplex headquarters in Silicon Valley and Stanford University which has produced some of Silicon Valley's most famous entrepreneurs, and they will still have plenty of time to see the sights of San Francisco.