Final week for young people to enter Gatwick Diamond contest

The Gatwick Diamond Young Start-up Talent project for 2014/15, for 16 to 25-year-olds, is offering young people a chance to win £50,000 worth of products and services which will go towards their new business idea, contributed by sponsors including RBS, British Airways, Thales, Extech, Richard Place Dobson and Acumen Business Law.

Workshops have been held at schools and colleges throughout the area including St Wilfrid’s and Hazelwick Schools in Crawley, Central Sussex College, The College of Richard Collyer, Reigate College and East Surrey College, with the final few being held this week.

Matthew Tyson, director of Richard Place Dobson, Lee Ann Connor, events manager for Gatwick Diamond Business, and Rebecca Gattinesi, manager of Basepoint Business Centre, along with Lorraine Nugent and Matt Turner, the founding partners of Young Start-up Talent, have presented to more than 6000 youngsters across the district over the last four months to try and engage and inspire students to start their own businesses and come up with new ideas.

The workshops showed videos of previous winners such as Sam French of Sam’s Kitchen, whose company design and make fashionable gingerbread men, and got students to take part and start to consider their own business ideas.

They also taught pupils about team work and how to present their concepts to audiences.

Matthew Whitley, assistant head of 6th form at Hazelwick School said: “The workshop was engaging and motivating – all round excellent!”

Matthew Tyson added:“Lots of young people showed a genuine interest in taking control of their lives. As a promoter of Young Start-up Talent in school assemblies and workshops I enjoy being able to impart my knowledge, skills and inspiration to a younger audience and it is always good to see, as this year, that there are lots that want to listen and learn.”

The deadline for anyone interested in entering the competition and to put forward their own business idea is Wednesday December 31.

If you would like to find out more about the initiative and interested in either getting involved or would like to nominate a young entrepreneur that would benefit from the £50k prize fund visit www.youngstartuptalent.co.uk.