Mentoring Young Entrepreneurs Through the Young Enterprise Programme

Existing since before mentors took the title (Homer, tr. 1997), the process of mentoring has affected the lives and careers of many successful and unsuccessful individuals. With many Fortune 500 CEO’s citing their mentor(s) as one of their keys to success, do mentors allow entrepreneurs develop to their full potential? The Young Enterprise Programme, a charity operating in Britain’s schools since 1963 (Curtis, 1999a), has championed the cause of our nations’ youth in the development of business abilities and entrepreneurial skills. Throughout its operation, a considerable level of involvement has existed on the part of sponsoring companies, providing both funding and the availability of business advisors, without whom the programme would lose considerable value (BIC, 1988; Curtis, 1999b). Since the inception of Young Enterprise in the United Kingdom in 1959, with the first company operating in 1963 (Curtis, 1999a), over 25,000 companies are formed each year, with the aim of developing business skills in young people aged between 15 and 19 years (BIC, 1988). A core component of the programme is the availability of mentors and advisors (BIC, 1988; Curtis, 1999b), without whom the programme would not exist and their involvement is greatly encouraged (DTI, 1988; BIC, 1988; Garavan & O’Cinneide, 1994; Curtis, 1999b). Taking the role of a community Mentor (Parsloe & Wray, 2000), the impact of the mentoring role on the Young Achievers is assessed, drawing on research from current Business Advisors. A resulting series of recommendations are proposed for involvement of advisors within the mentoring of young people, together with recommendations for the Young Enterprise programme itself. These cover the advisor plus the relationship between the advisor and their protégés designed to improve the operation of youth enterprise programmes as a whole.