About us
Young Enterprise is the United Kingdom's largest business and enterprise education charity. Every year we help 250,000 young people learn about business and the world of work in the classroom under the guidance of volunteers from 3,500 companies.We believe in ''Learning by doing'Young Enterprise's mission statement is "to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise." Its guiding principle is to do this through 'learning by doing.' Our programmes range from 'Ourselves' for Primary school pupils as young as four. It takes students on an engaging story-based journey exploring the world of work, saving, earning, decision making and teamwork. They culminate in Young Enterprise's flagship Company Programme which enables 30,000 15-19 year olds run their own real companies for a year with help from business mentors. Many of the scheme's alumni have gone on to outstanding business success.We were created in 1963 Merchant banker Sir Walter Salomon founded Young Enterprise in the 1962/1963 academic year. It was based on the American Junior Achievement programme. The concept proved hugely popular. By the 1973/1974 academic year, branches had sprung up in twenty-two areas of the country running Young Enterprise programmes. In the Spring of 2011 12 of Young Enterprise's regional organisations merged to form a single, streamlined and even more efficient body. Scotland and Northern Ireland remain separate but closely associated members of the family. We campaign for young people's empowermentYoung Enterprise argues that an excessively narrow focus on academic skills and exams risks sidelining other approaches to learning and can fail to give young people the employability skills they need - such as teamwork, practical thinking, punctuality and businesslike behaviour - to succeed in the world of work.