Market Challenge on North End Road
Tuesday August 23, 2011
Nine young men from the Clement Attlee Estate have been given a crash-course in how to set up their own market stall businesses.
The men, aged between 15 and 21 - none of whom are in education, employment or training - have been given their own pitches at North End Road Market, Fulham, in a scheme run by Hammersmith & Fulham Council and the Brathay Trust – a charity for disadvantaged young people.
The scheme, known as the Market Challenge, saw the young men given £150 to spend on purchasing goods for their stalls and the chance to take home any profits that they made. The team that made the most profit were given a market stall for a week.
The youngsters spent their first day trading from three separate stalls last Friday (August 19) and sold a range of goods including clothes, food, art and jewellery. They were also given training in how to advertise and market their stalls as well as gaining an understanding of street trading licensing.
Young trader, Sean Legg, 15, said: “I heard about the scheme at the youth club that I go to, the Brunswick. It sounded very exciting and I thought I would give it a go. We spent the money on cups for smoothies, toffee apples and chocolate strawberries. It was a very hard day of work. We had to set up at 7am for a 9am start and did not finish trading until 6pm. I have certainly learnt some very useful skills from doing this and it was a great experience.”
Cllr Greg Smith, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “We are delighted to give these young people a chance to make the most out of their lives by giving them the experience of running their own businesses.
This scheme is about extending H&F as a ‘Borough of Opportunity’ and making sure that these youngsters have every chance to succeed in life. We are determined to give residents a hand up rather than a hand out and hope that those lucky enough to be involved will learn skills that will help them to make real successes of themselves.”
It is hoped that all the young people involved in the project will be given more opportunities to trade from the market over the coming weeks. The council is also exploring rolling out the scheme to Shepherds Bush Market and Vanston Place in Fulham and even setting up a young persons’ market day.
Brathay were funded for this work via the Council's Youth Offending Service as part of the boroughs "street based" work to engage young people constructively.
