Times are hard for young people. Huge numbers of graduates & young people can’t find jobs. There are also thousands of empty shops, offices & factories in Birmingham, blighting the city. Graduate & Youth Opportunities for Business (GYOB) aims to bring the two together, creating exciting new opportunities
The Project is a concept which aims to:
- Support recent graduates & young people to create their own businesses, employment opportunities + harness their creativity through a spirit of enterprise
- Encouraging the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce to support GYOB members, providing opportunities for networking & nursing them through early developmental stages
- Create a climate that encourages/enables young people to ‘make things happen’
- Encouraging other young people to embrace self-determination through GYOB
- Enable the Business Sector to support GYOB members, offering skills, expertise, access to markets; recycling their redundant equipment, providing starter packs, & mentoring
In this city of 1,000 trades, we need to re-capture & harness the spirit of enterprise and create opportunities for self-employment. There are no jobs – so let’s create our own
The GYOB Project is being shaped by a group of recent young graduates and facilitated by community development organisation, SCAWDI
The concept is supported by the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield who says, “I am pleased to support the imaginative Graduate & Youth Opportunities for Business (GYOB) project. It demonstrates the creativity of our young graduates and their willingness to embrace the spirit of enterprise, in creating their own opportunities in Birmingham.”
“Starting new businesses from scratch is a mammoth task, and our young people will need all the help and support the established business sector can give them.”
“The Big Society is about everyone putting something back into the community, and I can’t think of a better way than helping this community of young graduates tackle youth unemployment.”
The GYOB Project will be launched on Friday 7th October, by Sparkbrook Caribbean & African Women’s Development Initiative (SCAWDI) at The Council House, Victoria Square, from 12 noon – 2pm.
