By CKPG Today

Youth Entrepreneurship Programming Support

May 22, 2018 | 3:02 PM

VANCOUVER – Starting this fall, high school students in School District 91 will be able to take an entrepreneurship course where they’ll hear about the experiences, failures and successes from entrepreneurs and mentors in the community. As a result, the students will develop their own entrepreneurial thinking which will help them when they look for work in the industry. Student teams will develop and validate their business idea with the support of a mentor. Once they’ve completed that stage, the student groups will move on to pitching their business idea to investors and entrepreneurs.

“Ever since I was a child I have always wanted to create my own business…this course will open my eyes to the world of business within my local community, and cities around the area,” said Illyria Hill, a Grade 10 student and YELL program applicant. “This is a big opportunity to learn new things not only about life but, about the world we live in. This is an opportunity that I don’t want to miss out on.”

In previous years, students have come up with innovative ways to address loneliness in seniors, women’s safety, local food security, education and training, underutilized assets in their community, new technologies and much more. 

The course was made possible by the Young Entrepreneur Leadership Launchpad (YELL) in partnership with School District 91 and Futurepreneur BC. Over $250,000 in funding from the Province’s Rural Dividend Program was granted to the joint partnership to help bring entrepreneurial education to the classroom. The funding will help provide live streaming for multiple satellite locations along with transportation for the students. 

“In looking at the breadth and depth of our projects we saw an opportunity to bring a unique offering in entrepreneurial thinking to our students and are thankful for the partnership that has developed with YELL that will allow our students to connect with local and provincial mentors as they seek to develop that entrepreneurial mindset,” said Eugene Marks, Superintendent of Schools and CEO of SD91. “This is not just about learning how to start a business or create the next successful app. While that will be a part of what is learned, what we are really focusing on is developing that positive, creative problem-solving mindset that is so valuable in any career today. The course will include live-streaming of speakers so students in multiple locations can engage with the business leader who is presenting.” 

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