Junior Apprentice – and the winner is

The Gen Y business prodigies

OK. so Junior Apprentice has finally finished and Arjun, the quietest and most consistent throughout the programme, won.

I think that if I had not done the work I did, perhaps I would have not stuck through the programme. For me it was just the adult version with fewer steroids, which is where I think they made a mistake.

What disappointed me most was the feeling that we did not see any of the innovation, creativity, collaboration or customisation that makes Gen Y so unique. We just saw young people trying to do adult stuff and getting it wrong a lot of the time. Also, they did it mostly without complaining or bitching, which does not make for an intersting TV show.

I was thinking a lot about why this was; why on a show that should have delivered on the above, we didn’t see much of it. I think it was the format… youth thrive and ably demonstrate their uniqueness in their own environment, an environment where they are experts, and that is the digital world. The show failed to allow these kids to really shine by insiting that they do the same tasks as the adults, which is a bit poor really. While it is obvious why they did it, (watching someone on the computer is boring, after all) I just think we didn’t get to see what these young people could be truly capable of. In fact, the lack of technology they had was interesting in itself. What this meant was that a lot of the time, these kids looked lost and in need of an adult. They were in a face-to-face, deal-making world where really, they have little expereince.

While some strokes of creative potential came out, (especially from Tim) we saw little in terms of real innovation. I wonder if, for the cup cake challenge, whether instead of selling them in a store they sold them on-line, the results would have been different.

This just goes to show how far behind the business and media worlds are when it comes to young people and how they live their lives. What I would have loved to have seen is a target set, an outcome and then the rest of what they do left up to them, rather than being fed things on a plate. I think this would have shown us what Gen Y really are capable of.

Junior Apprentice catch up

Junior Apprentice, Week Four

The Gen Y business prodigies

Well, Week Four and I’m not sure what I can say that I have not said already. Tim is still hanging on by the skin of his teeth, showing us that Gen Y really do need their mummies and that delivering on time with a sense of urgency is not a quality his team possess. With him and Kirsty left, they really do have a weak offering; two young people who show promise but are just too lazy to deliver. A real shame.

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Junior Apprentice, Week Three

The Gen Y business prodigies

Well, all I can say is, where is the innovation and creativity that this generation is supposed to bring; we are not seeing much of that, are we. The more I watch this programme, the more convinced I am that Gen Y and the next generation are only really great when they have adults around to support and guide them. With this support they feel safe and can excell; when they lose this support, they fall flat on their faces. The thing that was so noticable for me in this programme was how lost they all looked.

With Adam going home due to illness, you really got a sense of how young they all are. Adam was suffering and Lord Sugar did the distant thing by sending him home.

Rhys was bullied into being project manager and did a pretty poor job and, as Lord Sugar said when sending him home, he was not just not ready. However, watching his team was like watchingan argument in the playground and I think that Tim is on his last legs yet again, ducking and diving and at one point saying that he just could not get excited about the task. Again, maybe we are seeing a lack of Gen Y staying power. All words, all ideas, a bit of action then fizzling out.

Zoe managed the winning team and, until now a strong contender, she lost her way in task and showed no real leadership. Nevertheless, she managed to pull them through. We did see a bit more of Emma in this task, who did show maturity beyond her age and a very level head. Emma has a passion for achieving and believes that if you make your own bed, you should lie in it. Selling eggs and sweets to make money, she believes that hard work and never giving up are the keys to achieving success.

I just think that what we are seeing at the moment are tired, stressed and bewildered young people. Even though these youngsters think they don’t need adults around them, it is becoming clear that they do

Junior Apprentice, Week Two

The Gen Y business prodigies

Well, our junior business prodigies are still not making much of an impact, are they? Still, not sure we are really learning what is great about our young guns and it is certainly not putting my mind at rest when it comes to the future of our country!

So what did we learn about our Gen Y business prodigies?

Hannah stepped up to run the boy’s team who did win. Inventor Hannah admits to being competitive with an adaptable, flexible approach to work. Having achieved 100% in her Business AS Level, Hannah has gone on to achieve a multitude of qualifications as part of her IT Academy course. However her style was quite bullish and once Tim had produced an idea that she jumped on, they did little to listen to anyone else. They liked the idea, figured it would work and did not listen to the market research in the slightest. Where is the sprit of collaboration? Or is it that we have mollycoddled our youth so much that we just say that all there ideas are great and not question them? Have we made them think that everything they do is great?

Tim yet again showed us that he is an idea man, all full of enthusiasm at the beginning but I really do think he will lack any real follow through in the later stages. Although he was optimistic about doing the pitch, he pulled out at the last minute to leave Arjun to stand up to the plate.

And Arjun did a great job, showing us how well Gen Y can deliver when they are up against it and using every opportunity to learn and improve, He didn’t dwell on his failures or what he had done wrong, he just learned to moved on and made it better.

Adam stepped up and managed the girl’s team and my, what a tough job he had on his hands! Adam left school at 16 determined to succeed in business. He has since gone on to run his own online company selling camping and fishing equipment. He admits that he can be argumentative, but he’s not afraid of hard work. Clearly no leader, clearly wet behind the ears, he made a mess of it. However saying that, he sort of did a great job too, showing enthusiasm, determination and passion that got him through the board room and save him from being fired. To me, Adam epitomised everything that I love about young people; optimistic, forward thinking and just ready to go for it, whether they make mistakes or not.

Now lets on to the girls; moaning Hibah, gosh I am so glad she has gone! Here is one girl who really thinks she is all of that and will not have anyone tell her otherwise. To me, she is just poorly prepared for real life and I think she must have been a very protected child, but I could be wrong. She was determined her idea would win at all costs, whether it was good or not. Probably used to getting her own way a lot of the time; I think she had a real shock!

Zoë, who still is I believe the most impressive, did get swept away a bit on the Hibah games table tidal wave, but used her very persuasive selling techniques to push it through. These are two young ladies clearly used to getting what they want.

I think that what we learnt most from this task is that Gen Y has an enduring spirit that does not falter as easily or so quickly as their older counterparts. Does this mean that they may push the first idea through without little thought or consultation, just because they can get so enthusiastic about it? Maybe we will just have to wait and see.

Junior Apprentice, Week 1

The Gen Y business prodigies

I was so excited about watching this, but have to say it fell slightly short of what I expected. I really value Lord Sugar’s decision to go against what I am sure the production company wanted and not be too harsh on them, but it didn’t make for such gripping TV, did it?

So what did we learn about our Gen Y business prodigies?

Only five characters really took centre stage.

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