Studying the benefits of business

ANOTHER Australian Business Week (ABW) has drawn to a close at Noosa District State High, with the program’s popularity only growing after its 13th year.
The ABW program offers Year 11 students the opportunity to gain skills necessary to run their very own multi-million dollar company.
In the exciting week-long intensive program, students made business decisions that had real outcomes. This year students ran a simulated resort, and with the help of a business and teacher mentor, discovered the variety of skills needed to be part of a successful business in the 21st century.
The students were required to perform a variety of tasks including forming a company, assigning roles and reviewing key business areas.
This year’s 15 teams also developed a marketing strategy and mounted a trade display complete with promotional material and produced a 30-second commercial featuring their business.
This year, the team named Nature’s Hideaway Resort was crowned Grand Champion.
The winning team’s appointed CEO Tyndle Colley said the ABW experience had not only benefited her team, but all who took part.
“We’ve learnt so many valuable lessons this week – how to work together and consider everyone’s opinions,” she said.
“We were thrilled to have been given this opportunity to develop our skills in business management even though most of us haven’t had business studies as a course. We’re especially thankful to our mentors, who gave their time to guide us and advise us.”
Without the support of parents, students and teachers ABW simply wouldn’t be the success it’s become, but it’s the support from local businesses that has seen the program develop in recent years.
One such business is the Cooroy Community Bank branch of Bendigo Community Bank. Having just sponsored ABW for another year, manager Geoff Edwards said the Community Bank would be proud to support the program again in 2017.
“This is our ninth year as the major sponsor of ABW and the relationship gets stronger as we become more involved in each facet of it,” Geoff said.