Student challenge Upstarts employability skills

FOR Jenny Perks, it’s never been more important for young students to be learning new skills, and strengthening their resilience, initiative and proactivity, moving towards professional employment.

As co-founder and director of the Upstart Challenge, she hopes to see many local schools and learners getting on board her team’s 2020 entrepreneurship education program, aiming to mentor, inspire and empower youths to innovate and create change from their classrooms.

“The entrepreneurial journey they go through in the Upstart Challenge is all about taking feedback from others, and adapting what you’re doing so you can be resilient for the future,” she said.

This year, the challenge, its enterprise-centred activities and experiences will be led by teachers, utilising design development methodologies, finding problems and positively solving them.

“It gives young people employability skills for the future where they can consider starting their own business as a viable career option.

“If they want to go into general employment or tertiary education, the skills they develop through the Upstart Challenge, like creative thinking, problem solving, communication and teamwork, are very solid skills workplaces are looking for,” Ms Perks said.

Comprehensive resources, notes and activities will be put it in a digital learning portal for teachers to easily access and share with their students.

“They’ve got the opportunity to be flexible in terms of what suits their delivery because every school is managing issues differently at the moment.

“We quite often see that the teachers that pick it up are in business or humanities cohorts, but actually it doesn’t matter where in the curriculum a teacher chooses to put this, because it can equally well fit into the STEM and technology subjects, the pathway programs, and VCAL programs,” Ms Perks said.

“The skills are generic and because it’s based around student interests and passions, it gives them the agency over where to take solutions.”

A community project, the Upstart Challenge will culminate with a showcase on Wednesday, 14 October. If not face-to-face, it will run online.

“The key thing is helping students develop links to the business and broader community. It’s important they can share their solutions and journey with an audience who may be able to help them get to the next level, outside of school,” she said.

There are plenty of spots left to accommodate as many schools as possible. A few subsidised places, funded through Buninyong and District Community Bank, are also on offer.

Register at upstarthq.com.au.