Students from SERC’s Student Hair Company pictured at the recent trade fair in Bangor with enterprise manager Geraldine Boden.

Thanks to South Eastern Regional Colleges’ (SERC) Enterprise and Entrepreneurship programme, 12 student companies from across the college got the opportunity to showcase their entrepreneurial talents by taking part in an intercampus trade fair.

Students from a range of disciplines brought their products and services to the Trade Fairs and got the opportunity to demonstrate their selling techniques. Products on show included hand-made crafts such as keyrings and mug warmers, paintings, online mobile repairs, specialist skin products, jewellery and up-cycled wood from the joinery department transformed into bespoke garden furniture.

As part of the enterprise programme, students set up their own business and run it for an academic year under the guidance of SERC business mentors.

SERC Enterprise Manager Geraldine Boden explains: “We have seen some great trade stands today, including website demonstrations as well as fantastically presented products. The students have seen hundreds of pounds of sales and it has been a great demonstration of the enterprising spirit of our students.”

She goes on to explain why enterprise programmes are so important for the students: “Encouraging students to consider entrepreneurial opportunities is an important part of what the College offers. The trade fairs are just one of many entrepreneurial initiatives run by the SERC Enterprise Programme and are a fantastic opportunity for students to sample what it is like to run their own business.”

Running a SERC Student Company gives students the opportunity to work as a team to generate ideas, explore business development, analyse the financial aspects of a business and learn about the marketing and promotion side of business. It also aims to increase their awareness of what makes a business tick and how to make it a success.

SERC currently have twelve student companies that have been set-up and are being run students.

SERC provides a range of full and part-time courses designed to give students ‘the edge’. To find out how SERC can help you ‘get the edge’ call 0345 600 7555, visit www.serc.ac.uk or find us on Facebook, search: South Eastern Regional College.