Hi just to let you know that the Skills Factor 2012 competition opens today for all schools and educational establishments across the country to enter a team to compete against each other with the final taking place on the 4th of July at a very well-known London venue. The Skills Factor is an on-line competition that gets teams developing an idea from concept to reality. We are not just looking for the best idea, but also, evidence of skills learnt along the way, as part of the process of entering the competition. The wining finalists will then be invited to London to compete against each other, live on stage, in front of a panel of experienced business men and women.So don't delay enter your team today on-line at youngchamber.com
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Something Interesting
Hi I just like to let you know that we have a fantastic new product available to schools across the country and the world for those schools who would like to trial this else where; which is(drum roll) Young Chamber's 5th Matrix Web based platform. This is designed to provide a contemporary framework for all young people from all backgrounds to use to assist and prepare them for future careers and jobs, as all young people are important.
Now I know I might be a little biased but I do think this product is excellent and when you see it I am sure that you will all concur. Young Chamber is a not for profit, non political, organisation based in the UK who work through the international network of Chambers of Commerce through the Global Business Network the 'International Chamber of Commerce'(ICC). We are about positive economic development for all local communities connecting local business and their schools in order to help young people find their place in the world, everyone can benefit. If you are a business, school, student, parent or teacher and want to be involved contact us at www.youngchamber.com
Now I know I might be a little biased but I do think this product is excellent and when you see it I am sure that you will all concur. Young Chamber is a not for profit, non political, organisation based in the UK who work through the international network of Chambers of Commerce through the Global Business Network the 'International Chamber of Commerce'(ICC). We are about positive economic development for all local communities connecting local business and their schools in order to help young people find their place in the world, everyone can benefit. If you are a business, school, student, parent or teacher and want to be involved contact us at www.youngchamber.com
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
OK we are now back into the groove of Young Chamber activity for the new school term.
Over the summer months and now coming into autumn there is considerable comment within the media around increasing numbers of high unemployment of young people aged 18 to 25 and that schools and business have got to work together to address this.
This is obviously a good point and we should all be working together to try to ensure that young people have the best opportunities to aspire and achieve their goals and ambitions. Now this framework of provision needs to be accessible to all young children from all backgrounds. When you think about this it is a considerable challenge to achieve - 'engaging with all young people' and more often than not this is why I believe that the various national initiatives tend to be focused on minority group initiatives as opposed to trying to engage the majority which is seen albeit subconsciously, as being too difficult. Now this is where I kind of disagree as I am an ardent believer that we should be working for the benefit of all young people.
This is why the work of Young Chamber is pretty important in that it is designed to work with all young people from a diverse range of talents and backgrounds which will form the foundation of future societies. Our job is to galvanise the enthusiasm of the local business communities from across the country to support and work with their colleagues within the education system to assist all our young people achieve their plans and ambitions. Now this cannot wait until they are 16 years of age before we have a chat about what they want to do when they grow up, some of them have had ideas since they were 11 years of age and younger. Our collective challenge is to assist young people to develop and cultivate their ideas about what they want to do when they leave education way before 16.
Just think of the potential benefits for society if we start to link up their life aims and ambitions with their education from aged 11, think about the self motivation that kicks in when a young person starts to link what he or she needs to do in school to attain their aspirations. I think that this will assist schools with their educational levels of attainment as well as assisting young people get the jobs and careers that they dream of. What would this mean for businesses, well they would have young people entering the work place having some idea of what business expects of its workforce; what would the benefits to the local and national economy be; well it would grow and develop as you would have a far greater number of people in the workforce doing the jobs and pursuing the careers that they had chosen and thought about and planned for. As a work colleague of mine regularly says to me 'this is just a thought'
Over the summer months and now coming into autumn there is considerable comment within the media around increasing numbers of high unemployment of young people aged 18 to 25 and that schools and business have got to work together to address this.
This is obviously a good point and we should all be working together to try to ensure that young people have the best opportunities to aspire and achieve their goals and ambitions. Now this framework of provision needs to be accessible to all young children from all backgrounds. When you think about this it is a considerable challenge to achieve - 'engaging with all young people' and more often than not this is why I believe that the various national initiatives tend to be focused on minority group initiatives as opposed to trying to engage the majority which is seen albeit subconsciously, as being too difficult. Now this is where I kind of disagree as I am an ardent believer that we should be working for the benefit of all young people.
This is why the work of Young Chamber is pretty important in that it is designed to work with all young people from a diverse range of talents and backgrounds which will form the foundation of future societies. Our job is to galvanise the enthusiasm of the local business communities from across the country to support and work with their colleagues within the education system to assist all our young people achieve their plans and ambitions. Now this cannot wait until they are 16 years of age before we have a chat about what they want to do when they grow up, some of them have had ideas since they were 11 years of age and younger. Our collective challenge is to assist young people to develop and cultivate their ideas about what they want to do when they leave education way before 16.
Just think of the potential benefits for society if we start to link up their life aims and ambitions with their education from aged 11, think about the self motivation that kicks in when a young person starts to link what he or she needs to do in school to attain their aspirations. I think that this will assist schools with their educational levels of attainment as well as assisting young people get the jobs and careers that they dream of. What would this mean for businesses, well they would have young people entering the work place having some idea of what business expects of its workforce; what would the benefits to the local and national economy be; well it would grow and develop as you would have a far greater number of people in the workforce doing the jobs and pursuing the careers that they had chosen and thought about and planned for. As a work colleague of mine regularly says to me 'this is just a thought'
Friday, 15 July 2011
Skills Factor meets the X factor
Hi there, our recent Young Chamber event at The Indig02 last week actually achieved the Wow Factor that I was looking for. Schools and business people from across the country met up for a day of fun and celebration at the Skills Factor 2011 Final.
The first surprise of the day was discovering that the X Factor was also at The 02 recording one of their future shows. It was really good to be sharing the same venue as Young Chamber and it was great to see our branding on display alongside theirs. I must say our promotional materials looked fantastic, promoting both the Skills Factor and the Battle of the Bands.
The day started with the final school presentations from the six finalists which were all excellent and made it very difficult for the Judges to make their final decisions.
As I had previously mentioned we also had in attendance a few surprise Guest Speakers all telling their stories of how they became successful within their chosen careers. The first one up was Scott Mills from Radio 1, followed by Alexis Conran from BBC 3's the Real Hustle and then finally making the stage, just before the Skills Factor Winners were announced, we had former BBC 1 Blue Peter presenter, Zoe Salmon. Everyone found their different stories fascinating and the headline message from all of them was to not give up, if you get knocked back in pursuit of your chosen career, get up dust yourself down and try again, until you do succeed.
In the afternoon we were treated to some top quality musical performances from our Battle of the Bands finalists which would have easily rivalled anything that was going on next door in the X Factor, the winner of which was the 'super' Kerensky Offensive.
The winners of this years Skills Factor Final for 2011 were from Maltby Academy in Rotherham, well done to Maltby and all of this year's Skills Factor Finalists.
We have already started work on next year's Skills Factor 2012 competition which will be launched to schools this September, so if you missed out this year make sure your school or college gets involved for next year. It will be great and full of enthusiastic young people who will provide numerous examples of the many talents that young people possess from across the country and who will provide the future backbone of the UK economy. We will also have more surprise guest speakers to inspire everyone in attendance, more details will be announced on the Young Chamber website in the very near future.
Best Regards
5th Matrix
The first surprise of the day was discovering that the X Factor was also at The 02 recording one of their future shows. It was really good to be sharing the same venue as Young Chamber and it was great to see our branding on display alongside theirs. I must say our promotional materials looked fantastic, promoting both the Skills Factor and the Battle of the Bands.
The day started with the final school presentations from the six finalists which were all excellent and made it very difficult for the Judges to make their final decisions.
As I had previously mentioned we also had in attendance a few surprise Guest Speakers all telling their stories of how they became successful within their chosen careers. The first one up was Scott Mills from Radio 1, followed by Alexis Conran from BBC 3's the Real Hustle and then finally making the stage, just before the Skills Factor Winners were announced, we had former BBC 1 Blue Peter presenter, Zoe Salmon. Everyone found their different stories fascinating and the headline message from all of them was to not give up, if you get knocked back in pursuit of your chosen career, get up dust yourself down and try again, until you do succeed.
In the afternoon we were treated to some top quality musical performances from our Battle of the Bands finalists which would have easily rivalled anything that was going on next door in the X Factor, the winner of which was the 'super' Kerensky Offensive.
The winners of this years Skills Factor Final for 2011 were from Maltby Academy in Rotherham, well done to Maltby and all of this year's Skills Factor Finalists.
We have already started work on next year's Skills Factor 2012 competition which will be launched to schools this September, so if you missed out this year make sure your school or college gets involved for next year. It will be great and full of enthusiastic young people who will provide numerous examples of the many talents that young people possess from across the country and who will provide the future backbone of the UK economy. We will also have more surprise guest speakers to inspire everyone in attendance, more details will be announced on the Young Chamber website in the very near future.
Best Regards
5th Matrix
Friday, 1 July 2011
The Scene is Set
Here we go then, the scene is set and the second annual Skills Factor competition is now only days away. We have the venue the Indig02 London; we have the finalists already for action; we have the Battle of the Bands waiting to take the stage; we have supporters all ready to cheer and support and encourage their teams throughout the day; we have the judges all set to challenge the finalists and we have some very special guests who will share with all attendees their stories about how they have made it to the top of their chosen careers. Now if you are not attending this years event you are going to miss something really special, a celebration of all that is good about our young people in the UK today, a small sample of which will be in attendance to demonstrate the qualities and skills that will look after and protect the UK economy for many years to come. This event is not just the Skills Factor it will also become known as the Wow Factor. For those attending I look forward to seeing you there, for those who are not you have missed something spectacular.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Only two weeks to go until the 02 Skills Factor Final 2011
OK there are only two weeks to go until the Skills Factor Final 2011, where we will have a range of presentations from the Skills Factor finalists and the Battle of the Bands finalists. My team have been busy putting together the finer detail of the day which promises to be an enjoyable experience for all of the young people involved plus those school supporters coming along to the event to show and demonstrate their support.
Don't tell anyone but I am also planning to have a few surprises on the day with a number of celebrity guest appearances to talk about how they got into their careers and professions; everyone has a story to tell and I think that those who attend on the day will very much enjoy what they see and hear.
If you want to come along and see for yourself what Young Chamber is all about please contact the office to register your attendance.
Don't tell anyone but I am also planning to have a few surprises on the day with a number of celebrity guest appearances to talk about how they got into their careers and professions; everyone has a story to tell and I think that those who attend on the day will very much enjoy what they see and hear.
If you want to come along and see for yourself what Young Chamber is all about please contact the office to register your attendance.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Skills Factor 2011 Finalist
I would like to thank all the schools and teams that have entered this years Skills Factor Competition 2011 and a big well done to the semifinalist winners who now go on to the National Finals to be held in London at the 02 Indigo on July 6th. The semifinalist are: King James's, Knaresborough; Maltby Academy, Maltby; The Cherwell School, Oxford; The Heathland School, Hounslow; The Henry Cort Community College, Fareham; The Otherwise Club, London.
I would also like to congratulate this year's finalists for the Battle of the Bands competition who will also be competing at the same venue on the 6th July for the title of overall Battle of the Bands 2011 winner. The finalists are: Megan Hitchcock; The Kerensky Offensive and Broken Way . We had 3898 individuals all taking part in this years on-line vote to get these three talented acts to the final and remember their compositions are all their own work.
Well done once again and I look forward to meeting and seeing you all at the final on July 6th.
Best Regards
I would also like to congratulate this year's finalists for the Battle of the Bands competition who will also be competing at the same venue on the 6th July for the title of overall Battle of the Bands 2011 winner. The finalists are: Megan Hitchcock; The Kerensky Offensive and Broken Way . We had 3898 individuals all taking part in this years on-line vote to get these three talented acts to the final and remember their compositions are all their own work.
Well done once again and I look forward to meeting and seeing you all at the final on July 6th.
Best Regards
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