Daniel goes to the top of the class; ENTERPRISE HELP IS JUST THE BUSINESS.

Byline: DAVID JONES 

SUCCESSFUL North Wales businessman Daniel Stevenson is testament to what Young Enterprise can deliver.

As a teenager at Flint's Richard Gwyn High School he got a taste of business life when he took part in a Young Enterprise scheme in which a school team made candles and attended an enterprise event in Antwerp.

He has gone on to carve out a career, working for companies in England and Scotland, before becoming group managing director and co-owner of Rhyl-based Total Trade Group.

But he has never forgotten the helping hand Young Enterprise gave him more than a decade ago - and has supported the business education programme ever since.

Young Enterprise is the UK's leading business and enterprise education charity, offering a range of programmes, with volunteers from busi-nesdrafted into the classroom to work with teachers and students.

Some of the programmes enable students to work together to run their own company, raising capital to make a product to sell or delivering a service. Others use games, hands-on activities and role play to develop skills and capabilities for business and enterprise.

The scheme currently reaches more than 350,000 young people a year from primary school right through to university.

Stevenson said: "Young Enterprise engages local businesses and schools equally to deliver an enterprise experience for the kids and to give them some idea of what the real world is all about. It encourages an entrepreneurial spirit but also teaches them fundamental business skills that allow a person to operate at almost any level within an organisation."

He acted first as a business advisor to YE in Glasgow when he worked in Scotland, then performed a similar role in Denbighshire when he moved back to North Wales.

He is now Young Enterprise North Wales chairman, taking a more strategic role in the development of the programme in the region. Finals for north east and north west Wales which feed into all-Wales and UK events.

The regional programme starts next month and Stevenson says more businesses and schools are appreciating the benefits of taking part.

He says that businesses get that "feel good factor" but staff from those firms that take part as mentors also return to their employer having added to their knowledge and skills base.

"There is a corporate social responsibility aspect to it, but what I get out of it personally is the buzz of being able to help someone acquire the skills they will need in business."

He had many seen the ability of Young Enterprise to take a tongue-tied youngster and, over the course of six months, transform him or her into a person confident of standing up in front of a room of 150 people to give a talk about their project.

The skills, capabilities and disciplines instilled by such a process are invaluable in the real world of employment, and a YE qualification is a plus on a person's CV.

Stevenson, 29, has demonstrated he possesses entrepreneurial flair in spades. He was invited to join Total Trade three years ago and had helped increase turnover during that period by roughly ten-fold to close to pounds 20m.

The business provides domestic heating, plumbing, electrical and in-sulation services to local authority housing departments and housing associations across Wales and the north of England. It currently employs around 450 people and is rated among the 50 fastest growing companies in Wales.

The Federation of Small Businesses is supporting Young Enterprise in North Wales.

Mike Learmond, FSB regional organiser, said he was impressed by both the commitment of the young people who take part in the programme and staff running it.

He said young people who take part in Young Enterprise were increasing their employability and skill levels.

"The benefit to the North Wales economy from this programme is that it is producing a set of young people with a range of skills that are not normally gained through the normal schools curriculum," he said.

"Imagine the difference to the North Wales economy of having an additional 200 people with Daniel Stevenson's entrepreneurial flair!" [e-mail]

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Daniel Stevenson says Young Enterprise can give students a flying start Picture: JEFF PITT