By Callum Ludwig
A new Yarra Ranges Entrepreneur and Innovation Program is giving the free opportunity for 25 young people to get some invaluable advice and ideas as they begin their business ventures, supported by the iGen Foundation, Yarra Ranges Council and the Yarra Ranges Youth team.
Applications are open until 26 May for Yarra Ranges residents aged between 17 and 30, with the chance to be teamed up with an industry expert for six months to get your idea off the ground.
General Manager of Enterprising Partnerships and the IGen Foundation’s initiatives Celestine Amoako-Boateng said they want to empower and help young people to grow their entrepreneurial mindset.
“We expose young people to a generalist business coach who helps with the business development side of things but we do have a network of about 40 consultants that will be ready to call on for anything that is specific to the industry,” he said.
“What we hope to do is at the end of the six months, is to have gotten to a point where their ideas are validated, they should be able to say either my idea s not good enough and I need to pivot that way or my idea is great, it’s ready for launch and has maybe even made their first sale.”
Throughout the six-month period, the participants will meet monthly and will have one-on-one sessions in between with mentors or coaches that are specific to their industry or business idea.
Coordinator of Youth Development at Yarra Ranges Council Dudu Orman said the skills learnt will be some they can take into any job even if they decide that they don’t want to be self-employed.
“If they become self-employed, that would be brilliant, but it really is about developing employability skills, a business mindset and networking,” she said.
“What the research shows is that the earlier young people get involved in employment opportunities, once they decide on their career aspirations, the quicker that they’re able to be employed and retain employment.”
About 60 per cent of the workforce in the Yarra Ranges leaves the LGA for employment every day.
Business and Tourism Destination Coordinator at Yarra Ranges Council Alex Hill said if we can grow some of our own businesses here, they may employ more locals down the track.
“If they can employ another Yarra Ranges resident, it creates a more circular economy in the region and it’s less money that escapes and ends up somewhere else,” he said.
“It’s okay even if a business started is not directly related to this course, there might be a five or ten-year lag between this course and a young person’s business idea taking shape.”
Anyone interested can apply by buying a free ticket at www.events.humanitix.com/young-entrepreneur-program-for-17-to-30-year-olds.
