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An interview with Ashleigh Porter-Exley

1. You have been working since you were 13, how did that prepare you for the Young Apprentice? I started work at a young age, which helped me gain valuable experience in enterprise skills, customer service, time management, leadership and the ability to work well in a team. I think starting work at such a young age also shaped my work ethic that if you want to achieve your goals you have to be willing to put in a lot of  hard work and time. I also think this attitude set me up well for the tasks on the Apprentice and the scenarios/pressure I had to deal with.
2. It’s been over a year since your victory on the Young Apprentice, what have you been up to since then? Wow, I suppose the answer is various things really. I have worked with several large well-established companies, met some fantastic people and had the opportunity to do things I could only have dreamed about before the Apprentice. I decided to have a change in career after the apprentice and soon started working within schools providing motivational workshops along with other things. This is how I met Mike and Ben Dyer (Founders of Youth Enterprise CIC) and ended up coming to be National Sales Manager with Youth Enterprise CIC.
3. You are the newest edition to the Youth Enterprise CIC team, what has your experience been of the team so far? This is a funny one! We are like a huge family and I feel like I settled in within a number of hours. We are all very passionate about what we do here, and have very similar personalities and senses’ of humour …so we all get along very well. I love my team and its one of the best things about working with Youth Enterprise CIC.
4. What would you say makes Youth Enterprise CIC different to other Enterprise Days providers? I would say one of our main distinctions compared to other Enterprise providers is the fact every single member of our team is passionate about what they do, which makes us outstanding at what we do. Our team is dedicated to ensuring students from all backgrounds get the chance to take part in The National Enterprise Challenge and find it a valuable, fulfilling experience. It is personally very important to me to give students this opportunity, as I didn’t figure out what I was good at until I turned 15 and had the chance to participate in enterprise activities and business. Everyone requires enterprise skills no matter who you are or what background you come from. The National Enterprise Challenge ensures every student that takes part is on a level playing field. We also feel it is very important to work with as many students as possible opposed to teachers just selecting certain, and usually the more academically gifted, students as Enterprise days should be offered to everyone. This is why we offer to run our days for an entire year group opposed to just a small amount of students.
5. Where do you see Youth Enterprise CIC in 10 years time? We have worked with other 25,000 students across the UK this year alone and I believe Youth Enterprise CIC will soon be the leading Enterprise provider. This is down to the fact that we are passionate and focused about what we do and what we are trying to achieve. The team are all working towards the same goal and we wont stop until we get there. We look forward to our National Finals more than we do Christmas and New Year. Our Enterprise days are second to none and I have not yet spoken to a teacher that isn’t amazed by what we do. Watch this space …
6. How do you see the relationship between Schools and Enterprise Days providers evolving in the future? We have very good relationships’ with all of our clients. The schools we work with not only want to provide their pupils with the skills they will need to achieve great grades, but also to give them the vital skills they will need to have successful and happy careers’ in the world of work. Enterprise is something that should be written into the curriculum, as it is one of the main skills required for life after education. We are a Social Enterprise and anyone thinking of choosing Youth Enterprise CIC should rest assured we have their students’ best interests at heart.
7. One of Youth Enterprise CIC’s biggest projects is The National Enterprise Challenge (TNEC), what do you think this challenge can offer schools that other Enterprise Days can’t? The National Enterprise Challenge (TNEC) gives students a very real experience of Enterprise and Business in its true form. TNEC gives students something to aim towards meaning they are being taught the lesson; that If you work hard you will do great things. We guarantee each school that takes part 8 tickets to our National Finals where pupils will compete against hundreds of other students and have the chance to pitch their own product to Ryman, Theo Paphitis, and Gandys. Most other Enterprise days are just one day events where the winning team wins a box of chocolates. We feel it is important to ensure that students feel proud of what they achieve and get recognised for their individual talents.
8. As well as TNEC, Youth Enterprise CIC can deliver a number of different Enterprise Days, are these all centred around business and entrepreneurial skills? At Youth Enterprise we can cover whatever the given schools requirements are. Enterprise skills are not only for Business students but we do offer various alternative days and services that cover a wide range of skills.
9. What advice would you give to other young entrepreneurs looking to succeed? I doubted myself because I was never an A* Student and I didn’t realise what I was actually good at until I reached 15. It really doesn’t matter where you come from, how you speak or even how academically smart you are…everyone can achieve fantastic things if they are willing to work hard, be strong and remain driven. Because if something is easy, then it isn’t worth doing. If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door!