Youth Enterprise Hub (YEH)

The Youth Enterprise Hub has been established to promote awareness of youth enterprise, trial entrepreneurial curriculum, and (with the assistance of the wider community of Melbourne's inner north) support enterprise implementation in schools.

What are 21st Century skills?

These are the broad skills and abilities needed to be successful in modern society.

  • Learning skills: The skills used to process and communicate information, including creativity, critical thinking ability, collaboration and communication.
  • Literacy skills: The skills employed to develop informed researchers and thinkers, including information literacy, media literacy, technology literacy—all of which are needed to evaluate and process new information (particularly information found online).
  • Life skills: The skills needed to create a well-round individual in their personal and work lives, including adaptability, leadership, initiative, efficiency and social skills.

Watch an overview of the Youth Enterprise Hub.

Why the Hub?

The Youth Enterprise Hub aims to:

  • Promote awareness of the value of youth enterprise skills
  • Develop partnerships between community and schools that support enterprise and entrepreneur skills programs
  • Provide open access to key resources
  • Offer specific support to partner secondary schools on enterprise skills programs.

Research

A 2017 Research Report on Youth Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, commissioned by the Inner North Youth Employment Taskforce, led to the Youth Enterprise Hub being established. View the 2017 Report by Viv Sercombe of The Bridging Place.

Youth Enterprise in HUB Schools

6 Schools in the inner north of Melbourne partnered with YEH to build and trial an entrepreneurial curriculum for students in the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). The New Economy Enterprise Curriculum was developed in 2019 and early 2020 to enable teachers, local councils, innovators and young people to research, create and develop social and environmental innovations for their local community.

 

Listen to some of the teachers involved in YEH 

Megan Prenc from Concord Specialist School describes the benefits of collaborating with the Youth Enterprise Hub (HUB) and discusses how having direct access to YEH mentors enabled the school to grow its student's enterprises.

Alex Tsenalidis from Northern College of the Arts and Technology (NCAT). Starting as one of six pilot schools, Alex outlines how the Youth Enterprise Hub (HUB) has supported their enterprise program by establishing industry connections, working with them to adapt the curriculum and providing resources. "The best part was collaborating with the mentors..."

How the Youth Enterprise Hub Assists Schools

Schools may access the following support services through an Agreement with INLLEN to become an Enterprise Hub partner school.

Access to Enterprise Mentors

Through the Vocational Mentoring Exchange (VME), Enterprise Mentors can be available to support the delivery of Enterprise/Entrepreneur programs in schools of the inner north. Mentors are specifically recruited and trained for the enterprise projects.

To access mentors, schools need to sign up as a partner Enterprise School with INLLEN, and commit to sharing and collaborating with other participating schools.

For further information, contact Rochelle Darby on 0408 036 602 or rdarby@inllen.org.au.

Providing Social Enterprise Contacts in the Inner North 

Social enterprises provide a way to improve employment pathways for young people, reducing barriers to economic participation and effectively building the skills and capability of young people. Visits to and engagement with local social enterprises can provide practical demonstrations of how enterprise and entrepreneurial skills can be applied.

View the Social Enterprises List of the INCF

Curriculum Materials    

To access the curriculum for both General Enterprise Curriculum (VCAL) and a one-semester Micro-Enterprise Unit, please use these links.

General Enterprise Curriculum (VCAL)

Micro-Enterprise Curriculum

Student Workbooks are also available to download.

Possible Student Placements

Potential school student work placements in social enterprises and other suitable workplaces may be arranged through INLLEN by contacting Janelle Barnard on 0481 232 943 or jbarnard@inllen.org.au (subject to suitable employers).

To access placements, schools need to sign up as a partner Enterprise School with INLLEN, and commit to sharing and collaborating with other participating schools

Supporting Collaboration

The Hub supports schools interested in delivering enterprise programs by providing Professional Development opportunities and resources.

"Student's access to enterprise mentors was the highlight of the course – provided invaluable expertise, motivation & guidance."

"Enterprise mentoring was a key component of the program – students appreciated 'external' input & industry knowledge."

Teachers on the impact of enterprise mentors

What has been developed so far?

Enterprise curriculum

Schools in the inner north of Melbourne partnered with YEH to build and trial an entrepreneurial curriculum for students in the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). The New Economy Enterprise Curriculum was developed in 2019 and early 2020 to enable teachers, local councils, innovators and young people to research, create and develop social and environmental innovations for their local community.

A draft version of this curriculum is available for download.

The schools involved were:-

  • Fitzroy High School
  • Northcote High School
  • Sydney Road Community School
  • Melbourne Polytechnic – VCAL Stream
  • Northern College of the Arts and Technology
  • Virtual School Victoria (formerly Distance Education Centre, Victoria)

Specialist mentors recruited and trained 

In 2021, The Hub worked with the Vocational Mentoring Exchange (VME) to recruit and train 13 mentors experienced in entrepreneurship. These 13 mentors volunteered to support Year 11 and 12 students and their teachers involved in a one-semester pilot of the Micro-Enterprise Unit in the four schools settings.  Each mentor worked with a small group of up to 4 students, assisting in the design of their prototype.

Resources

View Mentors Guide

 

Mentors Application

Apply to become a mentor

Micro-Enterprise unit pilot

Four schools (Sydney Road Community School, Fitzroy High School, Northern College of Arts and Technology (NCAT) and Concord Special School) have helped develop a one semester curriculum for a Micro-Enterprise Unit.

Through this Unit, students develop prototypes based on their community interest/concern.  Students participate in initial visits to social enterprises and sustainable business and industry, to better understand values-led business practice and the way these local business models operate. Students then create a service or product, as well as a Pitch through a class based school event.  Mentors can assist with comments on prototype development, the group’s progression and areas of improvement

Resources

Micro-enterprise unit available  - 30 March 21 version

Development of Youth Enterprise Guiding Principles 

Guiding Principles consistent with inclusive, ethical and socially responsible practice have been developed.

View the YEH Guiding Principles

Trialling in Special School settings 

Concord School, a Special School in Bundoora, had ten students participate in a self- contained entrepreneurial unit at Year 11 Foundation Level in 2021.  An Enterprise Mentor worked with the teachers rather than the students directly, to support staff capacity and learning, and to ensure the material could be appropriately adapted for the students.

Resources

View the CTS 2020 Enterprise Report

"Getting experience with business start-up, actually getting into small groups and then developing the ideas, we first got together and brainstormed all sorts of different types of concepts and then as a group, collectively choose a concept that we were all confident in...we learned the importance of teamwork, communication and decision making."

Students on the Micro-enterprise Unit

Resources

Other initiatives that can provide enterprise skills support

VicLLENs Come Work With Me Series 2021

Entrepreneurship | Charlie Gutjahr, Atlassian & Louise Spears Bridge, Fitzroy High School (24 minutes total)

Teachers can download the Enterprise lesson plan to accompany the Come to Work With Me webinar

 

New Economy Webinar with Dr Michelle Maloney, Co-Founder and Director of New Economy Network Australia.

Three unique social enterprises describe what they do, how they make money while training and employing young people in the hospitality, agricultural and IT sectors. Panel members are Tenille Gilbert - Society Melbourne, Julie McKay - Enable & In the Click Social Enterprise, and Nichole Foster - Melbourne Food Hub.

Youth Enterprise & Entrepreneurship – Professional Development Seminar for schools, education providers, social enterprises and community agencies.

 Wed 15th June 9.30 – 12.30 at Melbourne Polytechnic Conference Centre.

This seminar brought together schools, education providers, social enterprises and community agencies to explore enterprise and entrepreneur programs that support young people on their entrepreneurship journey.

A recording of the event is available to view on the Vic LLENs Facebook page

Seminar Presentation Slideshows

Learning & Development - ACRE (Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship)

Peter Sacco - View presentation

ACRE’s Social Enterprise Academy supports Primary and Secondary schools and young people in a student-led, hands-on experience of running a social enterprise.

https://acre.org.au/

The Journey to Self Employment - iGen Foundation

Frank Wyatt - View presentation

iGen Foundation is a registered charity with a commitment to cultivating entrepreneurship by young people, migrants and people in regional communities.

www.igenfoundation.org.au

Youth Enterprise Hub

David Kennedy - View presentation

The Youth Enterprise Hub aims to promote awareness of the value of youth enterprise skills, develop partnerships between community and schools that support enterprise and entrepreneur skills programs, provide open access to key resources and offer specific support to partner secondary schools on enterprise skills programs.

Special Needs Settings and the Hub - Enable

Julie McKay - View Enable Video with UNSD Goals

Enable uses a model of social enterprise focused on delivering a supportive employment experience in real industry settings. Enable encompasses:

  • IT re-cycling
  • community digital inclusion
  • disability employment; and employment pathways for disadvantaged communities

www.enableaustralia.org.au

For Change Co.

Tenille Gilbert - View presentation

For Change Co. is a family of social enterprises with five different venues which support young people to be empowered to escape the cycle of homelessness.

https://forchangeco.com.au

Program Partners

Contact Us

For general enquiries about the Youth Enterprise Hub, contact:

Rochelle Darby

INLLEN Manager School to Work Program

E: rdarby@inllen.org.au

M:  0408 036 602