Callum Paterson, 16, Sean Richards, 17 and Susannah Colbatz, all from Kerikeri High.
Callum Paterson, 16, Sean Richards, 17 and Susannah Colbatz, all from Kerikeri High.
The spotlight was on the talented teens and bright business minds of Northland as the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) celebrated its regional awards in Paihia.
The YES programme allows teens to step out of their "bubble-wrapped reality and into the adult world of business", preparing them for reallife.
Giving a speech on the programme, which celebrated participants at the awards night at the Copthorne Hotel in Paihia last night, Susannah Colbatz from Kerikeri High School also said it lifted teen heads above gossip, teachers and exams.
Lifting their heads high were the members of Ecovado team from Springbank School, Jessica Prak-Khin and Ally Standing, who won the supreme title of Top Energy Award for YES Company of the Year for a soap made of an avocado byproduct.
The year-long programme saw teenagers set up and run small businesses.
Organised by the Young Enterprise Trust, the programme is co-ordinated locally by Northland Youth Development Trust and sponsored by Top Energy, with 160 pupils signed up this year from 11 schools throughout Northland. Twelve teams made the regional finals.
Callum Paterson, 16, Sean Richards, 17 and Susannah Colbatz, all from Kerikeri High.
Young Enterprise Trust CEO Terry Shubkin said the competition to find Northland YES Company of the Year was close: "We're delighted that two Northland YES companies will attend the national awards."
The crew from Taipa Area School, Carol Moffat, Jo Bergan, Skye Stedman, Shylah Elliot (back) Te Hauariki Toi, Quin Moffat, Juanita Broughton, Tipene Wallace and Ezekiel Raui.
The other company was KTNT from Northland College, thrilled to scoop a National Excellence Award, as well as a stack of regional awards. They sold Manuka Honey Nut Brittle from honey collected on the school farm.
A third recognition was given to Whangarei Girls' High School teacher Janet Lang, awarded the Sir James Fletcher Award for Outstanding Contribution to Enterprise. A handful of students spoke about the programme on the night and how it had changed them.
Susannah Colbatz, one of the Bios Ganos trio who scooped the Northern Advocate Award for Excellence in Communication, noted that doing business was mostly about dealing with people. Her team was creating an app for tracking New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) credits.
"We can see the big, bad world but we are not yet part of it. YES allows us to dip into that world," she said.
Student Grace Ligairi learned that problem-solving had to come from the heart and soul, "not just your head".
"Sometimes you have to dig deeper."
Rachel Draper said the programme tested participants' skills, drive and even friendships but was worth it.
The overall winners will go on to represent Northland in the nationals of the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme in Wellington on December 10.
