With their innovative take on how to increase the durability and life of cables for chargers and headphones, a team from Queen Elizabeth II High School has become the Junior Achievement Isle of Man Company of the Year 2016.
Opus - Connor Chappell, Thomas Clague, Raygie Dolloso, James Kearsley, Callum Staley and Jay Waters - devised a range of Caebo-branded cable protectors to take the title and will go on to represent the Isle of Man in Lucerne, Switzerland between July 25 and 28 at the JA-YE Europe Company of the Year competition where they will be competing against 39 other teams from across Europe.
The Company of the Year awards are the culmination of Manx charity Junior Achievement’s company programme, supported for the fifth successive year by the Boston Charitable Foundation, which tasks Year 12 students to set up and run a company over the course of an academic year.
16 student company teams drawn from Ballakermeen High School, Castle Rushen High School, King William’s College, Queen Elizabeth II High School and Ramsey Grammar School entered the competition which reached its conclusion at an awards ceremony, sponsored by the Boston Charitable Foundation, at the Palace Hotel, Douglas where the audience heard Junior Achievement’s chief executive Sue Cook say what the teams had achieved was ‘nothing short of amazing’ and that the charity was ‘incredibly proud and honoured’ to have worked with them.
She went on to say that over the last 10 years Junior Achievement had increased its reach from working with 995 students to 5000 annually, with volunteers having donated more than 1300 hours last year. She acknowledged the support from sponsors, volunteers and business mentors, also that of the Department of Education and Children and the Department of Economic Development. She concluded by saying: ‘We truly hope that the company programme will help to launch young entrepreneurs who will create wealth and jobs for people in the Isle of Man.’
Presenting the Company of the Year trophy, Junior Achievement chairman and chief executive of the Boston Group Greg Ellison said Opus was a student company ‘that had left the judges in no doubt they were “in it to win it”’. He continued: ‘They demonstrated a high degree of professionalism in every aspect of the competition and built a strong brand identity from their product through to the company uniform. They displayed excellent marketing skills and their product has lots of potential.’
Opus team member Callum Staley said: ‘We started off as just six friends but over the months formed into a full working company with each of us discovering our own particular strengths and working together as a team.
‘We got the idea for Caebo because we’ve all got iPhones with cables that kept breaking and so far the product’s been really well received.
‘The company programme is a great idea. Having to do things like going to business meetings you get to develop your people and communication skills and you really do learn a lot about the “real adult world” that’s out there.’
Interlude entertainment was provided by 14-year-old Tabitha Templer, who delighted the audience with her playing of the electric guitar which, in February, saw her win the Next Big Thing 2016, Junior Achievement’s annual talent contest for 10 to 18-year-olds.
The occasion also provided the opportunity for Rhian O’Leary, a team member of Company of the Year 2015 winners Elixir, from Queen Elizabeth High School II, to offer her impressions about the company programme.
One of only 11 students to be presented with an Alumni Leadership award when Elixir represented the Isle of Man at last year’s JA-YE Europe Company of the Year competition in Berlin, Rhian, who is also an Appleby Academy award winner, said: ‘Owning my own business has always been a massive ambition of mine. The company programme – not a text book - is the best way of gaining real work experience and recognising where your true skills lie. For a student who failed her GCSE English the first time around the company programme proved to be an incredible opportunity for me.’
Company of the Year 2016 awards:
Boston Group Awards for Student Company of the Year
Winner: Opus, Queen Elizabeth II High School
Runner-up: Future Proof, Ramsey Grammar School
Third place: Peace of Mind, Castle Rushen High School
The Zurich International Life Award for Corporate Social Responsibility
Peace of Mind, Castle Rushen High School
The Barclays Award for Outstanding Team Member
Verity Almond, Fortitude, Castle Rushen High School
The Canada International Life Special Recognition Award
Alice Dudley, Shee, Ballakermeen High School
The HSBC Award for Volunteer Mentor of the Year
Nigel McFarlane, mentor to Soara, Castle Rushen High School
The Sure Award for Best Use of Technology
Orbis, Ballakermeen High School
The Paragon Recruitment Award for Innovation
Future Proof, Ramsey Grammar School
The Maggie Galloway Memorial Award for Inspirational Leadership
Josh Radcliffe, Future Proof, Ramsey Grammar School
The Capital International Group Award for Marketing Excellence
Opus, Queen Elizabeth ll High School
The Richard Holt Award for Students’ Choice
Soara, Castle Rushen High School
To find out more about Junior Achievement, the company programme or the Next Big Thing, visit jaiom.im, contact Sue Cook, 666266, sue.cook@jaiom.im or follow juniorachievementisleofman on Facebook.
Photo - Junior Achievement chairman and chief executive of the Boston Group Greg Ellison, fourth from right, with the Opus team of Callum Staley, James Kearsley, Jay Waters, Raygie Dolloso, Connor Chappell and Thomas Clague, together with business mentor Alex Fray. Picture Andrew Barton.
