... the most exciting initiative in Enterprise Eduction we have seen for some time and I would recommend it to any school that wants to provide young people with real life business skills.

Career, work related learning and enterprise education is essential to the preparation of young people for transition to adulthood. It provides the connection between learning and earning, equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to enter and thrive in the working world.

The NEW framework provides a context for schools to fulfil their LEGAL responsibility to provide opportunities for careers education at key stage 3 and for careers and work related learning at key stage 4.

The framework consists of 9 elements of provision. Use the article index to see each element, and how uBiz Enterprise Education can help your school or college deliver on all 9 of these

1. Recognise, develop and apply their skills for enterprise and employability

Operating a uBiz Enterprise Education business requires learners to take risks and learn from thier mistakes.

For thier uBiz Enterprise Education business to be successful they will need to develop an understanding of and be able to demonstrate the main qualities, attitudes and skills that will in turn allow them to thrive in the working world

2. Relate thier own abilities, attributes and achievement to career intentions , and make informed choices based on an understanding of available options

By Applying for positions within the uBiz Business, learners will experience a real-life application process requiring them to produce a CV and personal statement and attend an interview.

Learners learn a great deal about thier interests, values, skills, abilities and attitudes allowing them to make creative and realistic future choices in learning and work

3 . Develop an awareness of the extent and diversity of opportunities in learning and work

Operating thier uBiz print company will give learners exposure to very real changes in the world of work and an understanding of the significance of these changes as they impact on thier own business. These can often be related to learners own planned career path.

4. Use thier experiences of work to extend thier understanding of careers and work

A uBiz Centre allows for work experience to be provided WITHIN THE SCHOOL on a permanent basis.

Learners will have an ideal situation within which to identify the true skills and qualities needed for enterprise and employability.

5. Learn from contact with people who work

Each uBiz centre is assigned a business mentor from the industry who is available to offer advice and information about thier experiences of operating a business, thier movitations and the pathways that they have taken.

Learners can appreciate the benefits of further learning from the experiences of thier mentor.

6. Learn about how and why businesses operate

What better way of learning how a business operates than actually operating a real life business for themselves?

Within the uBiz framework, learners experience for the themselves the connections between markets, competition, price and profit

7. Learn about working practices and environments

Learners are exposed to real life risk assessements for thier business and manage thier own Health and safety. They gain an understand of hazards within the workplace and how these hazards are minimised.

8. Undertake tasks and activities set in a work context

Everything that learners who operate a uBiz Centre do is set in a real life workplace, which is permanently available within the school.

9. Engage with ideas, challenges and applications from the business world

Learners within uBiz Will be required to demonstrate enterprise skills, including decision making, leadership, risk management and presentation.

To make uBizEE a success, they will need to demonstrate enterprise attitudes, including a willingness to take on new challenges, self reliance, open-mindedness, respect for evidence, pragmatism and commitment to make a difference.

Learners will also need to demonstrate enterprising qualities, including adapatability, perseverance, determination, flexibility, creativity, ability to improvise, confidence, initiative and the drive to make things happen!