Youth unemployment initiative The RSG Bristol Young Student of the Year Awards concludes next Monday with the overall winner receiving a life-changing £18,000 BPP scholarship.
The RSG Bristol Young Student of the Year Awards, a six-month competition to up-skill students and connect them with businesses, was launched to tackle rising youth unemployment in the city.
Participants presented their final ideas last week for a ground-breaking portal designed to give students access to real apprenticeships, work experience and job opportunities.
The winning portal will also act as a platform for businesses to sift through the profiles of potential young jobs seekers and is envisaged to be a LinkedIn for students.
Teams of between two and four, from State schools, colleges and academies across the Bristol region, presented their final ideas to a panel of high-profile business professionals as part of the final stage of the competition.
The contest award categories are Best Presentation, Best Overall Team Performance, Best Project Manager, Most Innovative Student, Most Improved Student and Best Overall Student.
The winner of Best Overall Student will win a life-changing £18,000 BPP scholarship to study law, accountancy or business.
The finals will be staged during Bristol Fashion Week at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway.
RSG chief executive Mike Beesely said: “We are extremely excited about the finals this year. The competition is growing from strength to strength every week and it will soon be ready to be rolled out regionally.
“As an organisation, youth unemployment is something we feel extremely strongly about. While there is a lot of conversation around the future of school leavers, those who may not get into university are being forgotten.
“It is not the education system’s job to make their students ‘work-place’ savvy, but as the head of a national recruitment organisation I see every day the significant lack of commercial awareness there is in young people and it causes me a great deal of concern about the future of our economy and for young people’s aspirations in general.”
Throughout the competition, which launched last October, participating students have benefited from marketing master-classes, presentation master-classes and dress to impress sessions.
Competition founder and project director Elaine Brown added: “The finals are going to be very exciting and will showcase some of the amazing achievements so far. The judges are currently deliberating which teams and individuals deserve the titles and it is proving a very difficult decision.
“The overall aim of this competition is to instil a sense of confidence in the students and break down the barriers that exist between schools and businesses. No more than ever before, people are realising that university is not the only route to success and the results of the competition demonstrate this.”
Now in its second year, the competition, which aims bridge the gap between employers and young people in Bristol, is open to 16-19 year olds and is free to enter for all state schools, colleges and academies.
Originally launched as a pilot scheme for Bristol, if successful, the competition will roll out across the UK.
Bristol Business News is proud to be a media partner for The RSG Bristol Young Student of the Year Awards.
