Other speakers included Rachel McIllgorm, founder of Storybox NI, a social enterprise business which celebrates local talent by exporting giftboxes of Northern Ireland produced goods around the world; Matthew Gillespie, chairman of Belfast Urban Sports and the man behind the building of three indoor skateparks; and business start-up and tech community champion, co-founder of Startacus, which offers support to fledging businesses.
As the designated Entrepreneurship Hub for all six Further Education colleges in Northern Ireland, Northern Regional College had spearheaded the drive to embed enterprise and entrepreneurship effectively across the vocational curriculum.
With the return to normality post pandemic, Joanne McCourt, who recently took on the role of Principal Lecturer for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Teaching and Learning at the College, decided the time was right to relaunch the College’s Entrepreneurship Club.
Joanne explained: “We’ve a series of events planned for later this year but first we wanted to host one that would inspire the students and excite them about the possibilities offered by self-employment.
“This event was to explore good practice, to identify the skills needed to succeed in business, and to highlight how the College can support anyone who decides to go down the self-employment route.
She continued: “We are committed to embedding a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation across all our vocational courses. I hope that this event to relaunch the Entrepreneurship Club, and the other events planned for later in the year, will prove inspirational for our students and help them realise how a vocational skillset and entrepreneurial mindset, coupled with hard work and the supportive environment the College can offer, can lead to business success.