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On Tuesday 6 December, six young people seeking opportunities presented their dreams and ambitions on the final day of an 8-day training programme. The training is organised by YouthStart Belgium, a non-profit organisation supported by Heylen Group, and took place in the Herentals region for the first time. At the invitation of Wim Heylen, the culmination of this initiative, which boasts a high activation rate, was held at Frame21 in Herentals.
In 1982, entrepreneur Steve Mariotti was mugged and robbed on the streets of New York. His response? He turned his life around completely and started teaching, with the aim of helping young people believe in themselves again. NFTE, the forerunner of YouthStart, was born. YouthStart has also been active in Belgium since 1998. Under the motto ‘Kickstart your dream’, the non-profit organises free training courses for young people aged between 16 and 30. They are unemployed young people seeking opportunities, with at most a secondary school diploma.
During the 8-day programme, two coaches encourage the young people to step into the shoes of an entrepreneur. The participants draw up a fictitious business plan based on their passions, dreams and talents. The aim is to make the young people entrepreneurs of their own lives, whether they go on to further study, become self-employed or take up salaried employment. The efforts are paying off: the activation rate of young people coached by YouthStart stands at 73%, which also brings benefits for society. “YouthStart Belgium encourages young people to kickstart their dreams, talents and passions. As a business community, we can only applaud that,” says Wim Heylen, who supports the organisation through Heylen Group.
Six young people following an 8-day programme in Herentals will not soon forget 6 December 2022. After seven days of intensive training, they presented their dream to a jury of entrepreneurs. The venue for this grand finale was no coincidence: Heylen Group proactively supports the activities of YouthStart Belgium and, at the express request of Wim Heylen, the budding entrepreneurs visited Frame21, the home base of Heylen Group.
The jury, chaired by current YouthStart Belgium president Gaëtan Hannecart, did not have an assessing role but acted as an advisory board. The six young people are school leavers aged between 18 and 25 who joined through social initiatives such as the JAC (youth advice centre) and the OCMW (public social welfare centre). After this eighth day, the young people also received a YouthStart certificate, with the support of Antwerp Management School and HEC Liège.
Olivia De Ridder, a retired teacher, entrepreneur and Herentals resident herself, looks ahead: “As a coach at YouthStart Belgium, I find it heart-warming to see how the participants develop. The young people start the programme with a lot of questions. As the training progresses, however, their self-confidence and their belief in their own dreams grow. I am convinced that these six young people have discovered their own talents and will make a fresh start in life. I therefore hope that YouthStart will continue successfully in the Kempen region, so that even more young people can experience this added value. With the support of companies like Heylen Group, we are certainly taking a step in the right direction.”
