Students reach UK final of international trade event
A team of Weston College business students have taken part in the UK final of an International Trade competition.
The seven first-year students, who earlier won the regional event, travelled to The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to compete against five other schools and colleges.
They presented a pitch on how to get young people interested in international trade and, despite not winning, impressed the judges with their understanding and confident pitching technique.
The team of Klaudia Wiecek, Julia Kaminska, Carlotta Browne, Immy Talbot, Max Kelly, Ryan Latham and Oscar Buxton also got the opportunity to visit 10 Downing Street and meet Liam Fox MP, the Secretary of State for International Trade. They also took part in a treasure hunt around Whitehall.
The competition was part of a Department for International Trade (DIT) initiative to find the next generation of business leaders.
DIT invited students to register for ‘summer schools’ in Bristol, Birmingham and Edinburgh, which offered the chance to develop entrepreneurial skills, work alongside business leaders and learn from successful exporters.
It also enabled them to enter the national competition, with the Weston College team winning the Bristol ‘heat’ held at Airbus.
Ben Melhuish, the College’s area manager for Business, said: “This event has been a great experience for the students.
“As well as being a hot topic due to Brexit, the practise of international trade is constantly evolving and offers a wealth of career opportunities.
“This event has allowed the students to explore what it has to offer and to learn from business leaders. They were also able to network with Airbus employees about opportunities available through apprenticeships, internships and graduate schemes.
“They performed extremely well to reach the competition final and delivered an excellent presentation in a high-pressure environment. We are very proud of them.”
Find out more about Business and Management courses here.
