Apprentice finalist to launch ‘Teenbiz’ to help next generation of entrepreneurs

With youth employment at an all-time high with over 1 million 16-24 year olds are unemployed, costing the UK economy £10 million a day in lost productivity -Young believes that TeenBiz will go someway to helping reduce this figure.
On announcing the launch of her latest venture Claire Young said “We need to drive aspiration, pride and a go-getting attitude amongst our young people. The government is promising the most entrepreneurial decade to date, yet there is little action to reflect this.”
Young has great first time knowledge of Generation Y as she currently works hands-on across schools and various government organisations; engaging and encouraging students to raise their aspirations, take off their blinkers and think big!
Since The Apprentice Young has founded Girls Out Loud, to help promote entrepreneurship in young females aged 13-18 and School Speakers which provides motivational speakers for schools.
TeenBiz is also aimed at 13 to 18 year olds both male and female and will give them a comprehensive package of start-up business funding and support.
Every month Teenbiz will award one successful student with £500 in cash, the services of Claire Young as a business mentor and a ‘start-up’ pack donated by Teenbiz sponsors; comprising of a website, company stationery and an official Companies House formation.
Capital Business Media Foundation – the charitable foundation created by Capital Business Media, owners of Business Matters, has been one of the first companies to pledge their support to the Teenbiz scheme committing to support at least one student with a £500 funding award.
Richard Alvin, group Managing Director said: “Claire Young has an infectious level of enthusiasm backed up with a level business head, so when she approached me about the Teenbiz scheme as it aligns so closely with both my own personal aims for supporting people starting out in business and the prime motivating factor why I added the foundation element to our company this year it was something that we were both pleased and proud to support.”
Alvin added “Our foundation model of 1 per cent of staff time, 1 per cent of profits and 1 per cent of our equity being owned by our foundation allowing it to award grants is a very easy one and if more companies did the same and worked with people like Claire then together we might be able to make a real difference with helping people start their own business and be in control of their own destiny.”
Young explained the thinking behind Teenbiz:  “You can become a Company Director at 16 years old, but a person under 18 has no way to access start-up funding. We need to lead from the front and create enterprise schemes that are sustainable.  Plenty of people are talking about enterprise and doing nothing, I’d rather put my money where my mouth is and make something happen.”
Young also recently met with the Prime Minister for roundtable talks and has been invited to join the House of Lords Youth Unemployment Taskforce.