Cadets in Enterprise Skills: Reflecting on the Weekend

Last weekend I had the absolute honour to spend time with a group of remarkable young people who opened their minds to learn about and embrace enterprise and entrepreneurship. I’m talking, of course, about our wonderful Army and RAF Cadets.

 

I speak regularly about my passion for introducing entrepreneurship and enterprise skills to young people and firmly believe that, no matter what they choose to do in their lives and careers, these skills will empower and embolden them, enhancing the trajectory of their development.

This has also been a fundamental part of the DNA of X-Forces Enterprise since day one. Over the years we, as an organisation, have worked closely with Secretaries of State for Defence and Education to zero in on the most effective and efficient way to support Cadets, an initiative championed by our late Patron, Lord Young. Going to the upper echelons of government to ensure that our content and delivery is outstanding has resulted in wonderful feedback in the years since we launched the programme in 2018. This fills me with enormous pride.

In the last couple of years, we have delivered the Cadets in Enterprise programme online, so it was entirely brilliant to be back to an in-person setting on Saturday 21^st September. A fine blend of young people from the Army Cadets and the RAF Air Cadets made for a diversity of ideas, interactions, and a whole lot of fun. The day kicked off with sessions on how a business is put together and how entrepreneurship skills can maximise a person’s potential, whether that be in a work placement, an interview, future career roles, or self-employment. I was thrilled to hear that some of the Cadets have their own side hustles!

 

 

The Cadets were then tasked with creating an animal welfare venture that considered digital skills and net-zero. The hands-on group learning approach meant that by the end of the day they had understood the fundamentals of what’s needed for a business not only to survive but to thrive. Continually building on those foundational skills is incredibly important.

I was delighted with the way the Cadets absorbed themselves in building creative business plans, exploring aspects such as digital and traditional marketing communications, as well as financial management. While it is nigh on impossible for me pick a favourite moment from the numerous highlights we enjoyed, I must mention the highly stimulating competition between the two groups. When examining different marketing mediums, the discussion turned to sandwich boards – who knew that the difference between a sandwich billboard and a human billboard would inspire so much passion and create such controversy!

I also have to mention the killer question from the day – ‘what is liquidity?’.  By the end, the Cadets were not only using liquidity in the context of being asset-rich or having disposable income, but were ready to go home and ask their parents, ‘so mum, dad, how liquid are you?’ It’s safe to say there was lots of fun had by not only the Cadets themselves, but also the delivery team.

 

 

Since the weekend, the Cadets have been asked to delve deeper into their business ideas, and on Thursday 10^th October we are looking to our corporate friends to join us on an online panel where the Cadets will share what they have learned and what those skills will mean to them in the future. We invite you to join us with an open mind and thoughts on how you may be able to provide them with your invaluable experience or guidance. If you have any links or insight to the animal sector, please do not hesitate to get in touch – Sarah Woodward, Pets at Home, Susanne Brock – we would love you on the panel!

I must say thank you to the Cadets for their engagement and inspiration, and to Martin Wing, Pete Mills, Clinton Riley, Neale Jocques, Paula Jackson and Zoe Harris, who helped with this endeavour, as well as a massive thanks to London Stock Exchange Group for their support and for hosting the Cadets graduation event in November.