Capturing the Impact: Hebe Foundation’s Junior Apprentice Programme

In December 2023, Jacob Ayre, Community and Citizenship Manager at Wesleyan Financial Services, met with the inspiring Amie Buhari, Founder & Chief Executive of The Hebe Foundation at their hub in South Lambeth, London. The Hebe Foundation is a specialist youth organisation that works with all young people aged 13-20 years old to help them discover & use their talents. They provide young people with a safe environment in which to expand their minds, learn new skills and discover their talents in fun creative ways.

“We are immensely grateful to Wesleyan for their support. The funding has enabled us to enhance our existing programs to address the unique challenges faced by disadvantaged students and help these young individuals overcome obstacles and achieve their full potential.”

Amie Buhari, Founder & Chief Executive

The Hebe Foundation received a ￡13,000 donation from the Wesleyan Foundation’s flexible grant to deliver a summer Junior Apprentice programme, which was in its fifteenth year of operation. The programme ran for a 3-week period and was delivered across four sites in south London with 170 young people taking part. Post programme, participants gained further insights into the world of work with access to businesses and corporate networks, employment opportunities, and employability support. 20 Peer Junior Apprentice alumni mentors were trained to support the programme receiving AQA accreditation with the 72236 ENTERPRISE: BUSINESS FOR LIFE (Level 2 – Junior Apprentice).

“I was able to do more public speaking. I’m not as shy as before because a lot of the tasks, like the double your money task, you have to go and speak to people and that was really enjoyable.”

K, Participant

In collaboration with their peer mentors, businesses, and corporate volunteers, the Junior Apprentices went through a series of business challenges which test and develop their business skills. This included marketing, sales, costing and logistics, alongside personal and social skills including peer leadership, teamwork, communications, time management and problem-solving. The project tasks involve youth-led social action and initiatives focused on wider community engagement.

Some examples of this summer’s Junior Apprentices social action include a ‘book drive’ to collect and share books in their communities to improve literacy. Another group created a business plan to renovate a local park which had been closed due to vandalism. One of the amazing outcomes of this year’s programme is that the plan to renovate the park was raised to the Local Council, and a renovation is now taking place.

“I learnt skills like leadership, speaking out loud, speaking to new people and confidence. That just helps with everything in the future… It could help me lots of things from a job interview or having to pitch for something in the future. if I have a job with clients, I can use the skills I have learnt here. Junior Apprentice is very important.”

B, Participant and Finalist

Throughout the Junior Apprentice Programme, participants present their business solutions to a “Dragon’s Den” style Boardroom of expert professionals from our corporate partners who volunteer their expertise. Young people take turns to lead their team and explore creative product design and presentation techniques alongside investment writing, marketing, finance, branding, and risk assessment. The much sought after accolade “Junior Apprentice of the Year” is awarded by the Boardroom, and publicly celebrated by an audience of businesses, parents/carers, and peers.

“It really was a pleasure to be part of the final and to see all of the hard work that Hebe and the young people involved do. A Great experience.”

Mel - School Teacher & Finals Judge

The programme runs through the school holidays which can be a really difficult time for families to cope with living costs, and for young people to have meaningful activities. When speaking with Amie about this year’s programme we spoke about some of the challenges Young People were facing this:

“The effects of cost of living were clear to see for this years’ participants, there were barriers for Young People to travel to the programme and some didn’t have food available for their lunch. We worked to resolve the issues the young people were facing, but this is something we are going to factor in for future programmes so we can ensure all participants can fully access the programme with no barriers.”

Amie Buhari, Founder and Chief Executive of Hebe Foundation

From visiting the Hebe Foundation’s hub and looking at the work, which was achieved, it’s clear to see what a formidable impact Amie and her team are having for Young People and families across London. You can find out more about their programmes here: https://www.thehebefoundation.org.uk/