This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Enterprise in education conference
16/12/2003
Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace today urged Scotland's
businesses to play a role in producing their future
employees.
Mr Wallace was addressing business leaders at a
conference in Edinburgh, which considered how business
could work with school pupils to develop future
entrepreneurial skills.
The Executive is investing #40 million promoting
Enterprise in Education to give children work experience
and new transferable skills.
The Deputy First Minister was joined at the event by
entrepreneur Tom Hunter, who announced details of a new
project. The 'Whole Schools' initiative will help improve
school enterprise in East Ayrshire.
The #340,000 scheme, funded by the Executive and the
Hunter Foundation, is the first of its kind in the UK. It
will coordinate all enterprise in education efforts across
primary and secondary school clusters in Cumnock and
Stewarton.
Mr Wallace said:
"We have been told that young people often don't have
the necessary skills to work in the dynamic workplaces of
today. Business must be willing to step up to the mark and
work with us to address this.
"We need business people in our schools working with our
teachers. We need business to open its doors to young
people so they can experience work-based learning. These
are just two of the opportunities available."
The new project is part of the Schools Enterprise
Programme (SEP), which receives funding from the Hunter
Foundation, and has already helped link schools and
business.
Tom Hunter said:
"The continuation and evolution of SEP is a fantastic
step, but it is merely that - a small step in a long
process. Scottish business has to play a far more proactive
role in working to aid the growth and reach of enterprise
in education."
Mr Wallace also announced that three senior Scottish
business figures have joined the Determined to Succeed
project team, and will help deliver the
project:
* Ray Perman, formerly Chief Executive of Scottish
Financial Enterprise
* Lynn Hendry, previously Chief Executive of Young
Enterprise Scotland
* Isla McCrone, formerly Associate Director of
Business Banking, HBoS Plc.
Mr Wallace was speaking at a Determined to Succeed
conference, which took place today in the offices of
Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, at Apex House,
Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh.
The Executive's Enterprise in Education strategy,
Determined to Succeed, was launched on 18 March 2003.
Details of this can be found at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2003/03/SEfm119.aspx
The Scottish Budget 2003-2006 has allocated £40m to
support Enterprise in Education. This has been supplemented
by £2m from the Hunter Foundation, match funded by the
Executive.
The Executive is also involved in the Schools Enterprise
Programme (SEP), a joint venture with the private sector
which started in 2001. This encourages and promotes
enterprise experiences for children aged 5-14 by developing
links between education and the business community. Over
1000 primary schools have registered their enterprise
projects with the SEP.