Calling budding Young International Traders

26 January 2018

Last year one of the Institute of Export & International Trades’ trustees partnered with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) to launch a pilot for the North of England region that would provide a template for a national campaign. We were asked by local but highly international firm ICC Solutions in Warrington, Cheshire if we would like to help to support this, and of course the answer was yes. Together, we pulled together a programme of activity which they very kindly funded.

Over 30 students from six schools formed teams to work through the challenges and hurdles that small businesses have to navigate in order to export successfully. They used their initiative to research product ideas and overseas markets using resources we provided.

Following a vibrant showcase in which each team presented their products and export plans to a panel of expert judges, the winning school from Teesside inspired us all with their plan to export Lifesaving / Swimming Programmes to Uganda.

Scaling this groundbreaking pilot to a national scale is the next step, allowing all young people doing their DofE programme the opportunity to become ‘Young International Traders’.

Using the Open to Export website - a free service powered by the Institute - we have created a larger resource and rich and structured approach through which young people across the country can work towards the much coveted The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. They create their own businesses and learn to develop online export plans utilising a digital portal that contains a wealth of accessible information and articles, providing our budding entrepreneurs everything they need in order to become Young International traders.

Participants are asked to think of a business, where they’ll sell it to, and what modifications they’ll need to make to their product in order to sell there. They’re then asked how they would market the product in a different culture before considering how they’d price and deliver it into that market. As a result of their research and endeavour they create a coherent export plan that exhibits their understanding of the knowledge needed to trade internationally.

As an Ofqual awarding body, the IOE&IT then offers the students the chance to
go online and complete a Level 1 assessment of the knowledge they have gained, with the special reward of becoming a certified ‘Young International Trader’.

David Maisey, CEO and Co-Founder of ICC Solutions explains, ‘As a multiple winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise we wanted to inspire others to embrace opportunities in international trade, especially young people who face a lot more challenges in this changing world, and we wanted to help them prepare for hopefully becoming the successful exporters of tomorrow.’

Institute of Export & International Trade Director General, Lesley Batchelor, agrees, saying, ‘Our remit is to build competence and skills in international trade and this project is a brilliant example of how we can help build the confidence in young people to look further afield for new ideas, products and markets.’

Lesley Batchelor adds, ‘World trade matters and these young people are at the beginning of building a great nation of exporters. Good luck to the first cohorts that will start in January 2018 - we hope they will catch the bug and go on to study our apprenticeship programmes or qualifications, we want to build a new culture of export expectations.’ 

Kindly supplied by The Institute of Export

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