Apprentice at the market to boost children’s business skills

Britain’s favourite apprentice has shared his expertise with young market traders of the future in Swansea.

Adam Corbally, who appeared in the smash hit BBC One programme with Sir Alan Sugar in 2012, visited Swansea Market on Wednesday May 18 to meet local schoolchildren and help boost their business skills.

Adam, who was voted Britain’s favourite ever apprentice by Radio Times readers, started his working life as a market trader in Derbyshire.

His visit formed part of a ‘Flash and Banter’ young enterprise event organised by Swansea Council and Swansea University’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Swansea schools that participated included Birchgrove Comprehensive School and Craigfelen Primary School.

Schoolchildren were also given a tour of the market during the event, which formed part of the national ‘Love Your Local Market’ annual campaign which is focussing this year on new market traders and encouraging youth markets.

The schoolchildren will now be tasked with working on a business idea that they’ll present to a judging panel next month. The winning team will then receive a package of trading days in Swansea Market to further develop their business.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “This event was a fantastic way of helping schoolchildren harness their business and entrepreneurial skills.

“The Apprentice continues to be one of the most popular programmes on TV, so Adam’s visit no doubt helped inspire the children taking part and pointed them in the right direction of what it takes to succeed as a market trader.

“Swansea is fast becoming a city renowned for innovation where enterprise and business acumen are encouraged and embraced. As a council, it’s important we support events of this kind because they could potentially lead to new businesses in Swansea in future, boosting local residents, attracting investment, creating jobs and retaining talented businesspeople in the city.

“There’s no better place to learn than at our fantastic, award-winning indoor market.”

In an award ceremony in Birmingham last year, Swansea Market beat off more than 80 others to be named Great Britain’s best large indoor market by NABMA – the National Association of British Market Authorities.

The areas where the market was judged to excel included its use of social media, its support for new traders, its events programme, its promotion in the community and its partnership working alongside other organisations.