YES Trade Fairs 2005 - Northland students' enthusiam and ingenuity on show

19 July, 2005

ENTERPRISE EDUCATION : MEDIA RELEASES 2005

Trade Fairs for Northland's Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) students are coming up in Kerikeri on the 30 th July and in Whangarei on the 6 August.

The Trade Fairs provide an opportunity for YES students to market and showcase their products and services to the public in a real trade environment.

Students will set up stalls to display their products and services, with originality and creativity being rewarded by the opportunity to win Enterprise Northland sponsored awards for “Best Visual Presentation” and “Best Marketing Team” sponsored. One company has requested space to use a vehicle in their display!

All members of the public are invited to come along (with their wallets!) and check out the range of goods on sale that have been developed and produced by the students, many from scratch. There will be something for everyone, for example flax and paua shell products, jewellery, children's toys, recycle bin covers, thermal sportswear, “party purses”, streetwear and a whole lot more. As an added bonus, every purchase made will entitle the shopper to go into the draw to win a high quality gift basket, one each at Kerikeri and Whangarei, produced by one of the YES companies.

Regional YES Coordinator, David Templeton of Enterprise Northland is encouraging shoppers to mark the dates on their calendars and come along to support Northland's young people. He says, “I have been working with YES for the last eighteen months and am always so impressed with the enthusiasm and ingenuity shown by the students. Their ideas for original goods and services, and the passion with which they approach the running of their businesses is so inspiring”.

The Kerikeri Trade Fair is being held in the old Mitre 10, Garden Centre, Homestead Road , Kerikeri, and in Whangarei at the Exhibition Hall at Forum North. Both Fairs will be open from 9am to about 12 noon .

YES is a learning experience in which senior secondary school students form companies, become directors, and develop products and services which they market and sell. It teaches students the real skills required in running a business of budgeting, planning, interpersonal relations, decision-making, reporting, communications, risk management and teamwork.

YES is a nationwide programme with Northland leading the way with more teams, more students and more schools participating than any other rgeion in New Zealand in 2005. Much of the success in Northland can be attributed to the significant regional sponsorship provided by Northpower and Top Energy.