Our Youth Chamber met recently.  As a first project we asked them to tell us why they were interested in the Youth Chamber.  This was met with a lot of excitement about how it will operated and the future projects we already have lined up.

These are the comments that they have given us…

Witham is a hotbed of businesses; large and small, who come together as the Witham Chamber of Commerce. This exciting step forward is made special for the younger generation by the creation of the ‘Youth Chamber’, a chance for the young people of Witham to get involved, develop skills, gain experience and start life with a flying leap.

Being fourteen I am currently looking for a small job to earn some money of my own. Through the Youth Chamber I am hoping to be educated in what jobs are available for people of my age, and to help businesses communicate with the youth.

I am in year eleven, arguably one of the most important years of my life, and currently making decisions about my future. The Youth Chamber gives me the opportunity to talk to a wide range of people about future careers, and I would like to talk to companies with medical backgrounds due to my interest in medicine.

This is a new venture for Witham and I hope it will lead to a flourishing town that makes full use of the potential of the next generation.

I have joined the youth chamber for a few reasons. They are that I had hoped to be more active in our community, so when the youth chamber was suggested to me I thought it sounded like a good idea. Doing this would also give me good experiences about businesses which can help me in later life and will look good on my CV.

I am hoping to work in the music industry in the future, preferably as a film or commercial music composer. As this kind of work is likely to be freelance it will be really useful for me to talk to business owners about the day-to-day running of a business. I am studying Business Studies at GCSE at the moment, but I feel that working with real businesses will help me to get a better understanding of the subject.

I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to learn about what is happening in my local area. I did not really know what to expect, but it is a lot better than I initially thought! I think that it will help me to understand how a business is run, and it’s needs and requirements to run smoothly, which could help me in my future career. In particular, I am interested in the larger businesses in Witham, and how they interact with the local area.

I think that the idea of the Youth Chamber is good because it will bring together young people and local businesses, granting unique opportunities to young people. I hope to gain a lot of experience from the Youth Chamber and learn skills to help me gain employment, such as using body language and communication skills. I would like to understand what employers look for in potential employees, with the knowledge that they do not necessarily look for just academic ability.

I am privileged to be part of the inaugural Witham Youth Chamber. During the next year, I am hoping to gain experience of the workplace and using this knowledge to help decide on which career path to explore. I am especially looking forward to the visit to Google because I am interested in the computing industry.

If you know of any youngsters who would be interested in joining the Witham Youth Chamber then contact Sacha – Youth@withamchamber.co.uk