Next Top Boss

Next Top Boss is a real life version of a reality TV show like The Apprentice - but with a serious purpose. It is a challenge competition to help get 1,000 young people in Thurrock on the career ladder.

Young people will undergo real life business challenges and learn about careers in the process. It is an innovative and original event that sees local government, business and education working together to help grow the local economy.

Twenty organisations including leading global business brands are working together to help young people, the community and the economy.

They are united in the belief that Thurrock’s challenge is to up skill. Many young people in the area lack understanding of how to start a career - or don’t aspire beyond the shop floor. Next Top Boss aims to break the vicious circle where jobs and ambitions are low value, low skill. The idea was born in Thurrock but many of our large businesses are national and international so the reach is much wider.

With the Olympics coming, key areas just outside London, like Thurrock, have a vital role to play. We are doing our bit to grow skills and value in Thurrock and prepare for the future.

Next Top Boss - Made in Thurrock has three key goals:

  • To open the doors of the working world to young people with limited opportunity or ambition - inspiring them and helping them understand local and national career opportunities.
  • To grow the employment pool and raise skills levels for local employers
  • To promote Thurrock and its organisations, attracting inward investment and growing the economy.

HOW IT WORKS: The competition is now open and will run throughout 2010. Competitors will work in teams to solve a series of local and business challenges. They will shape their own challenges, using contacts and information from our key partners.

The teams will meet at a special launch event and come up with their own name and brand.

They will then be asked to work on three challenges:

  • Destination Thurrock - a challenge to promote Thurrock
  • Community Challenge - to identify and solve a local community issue
  • Business Challenge - to pitch to one of our partner organisations to solve a problem or improve their business.

Teams, who will be given mentoring and support throughout, will be judged throughout the process by representatives of our partner organisations on set general criteria - leadership, team work, staying power, creativity, delivery, growth, potential and ambition.

Teams will be scored on each challenge and overall, with scores being added up at the end in a final judging. The whole competition will be of benefit to entrants as they will learn throughout and build a personal portfolio of their experiences.

The winning teams will be offered a package of benefits from our partner organisations including key training, work experience and work placements.

www.nexttopboss.co.uk