Inspiring The Next Generation Of Regional Young Entrepreneurs With The Shire Of Ashburton

Jul 8
3 min read

One of the biggest challenges facing many regional communities is creating opportunities that encourage young people to build their futures close to home. While regional Australia is full of talented young people with creative ideas, many don't see entrepreneurship as a realistic pathway or know where to begin turning an idea into a business.

Following a youth consultation, the Shire of Ashburton identified entrepreneurship as an area young people wanted to explore further. Rather than delivering a one-off workshop, the Shire brought together the Onslow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Onslow School, Pannawonica School and Tom Price Senior High School to create a long-term initiative that would help build entrepreneurial skills across the region.

Working alongside these partners, BOP Industries designed a community-wide entrepreneurship program that equipped students, educators, parents and local mentors with the skills and resources to support young entrepreneurs long after the workshops had finished.

At A Glance

Partner: Shire of Ashburton

Location: Tom Price, Pannawonica and Onslow, Western Australia

Audience: Years 7-12 students, educators, parents and community leaders

Program Format: Regional entrepreneurship initiative combining student workshops, community upskilling and ongoing learning resources

Learning Focus: Entrepreneurship, business creation, mentoring and regional workforce development.

Building Entrepreneurship Across The Community

Rather than focusing solely on students, the program recognised that developing young entrepreneurs requires support from the entire community.

Each year, BOP Industries travels across Tom Price, Pannawonica and Onslow to deliver hands-on entrepreneurship workshops where students transformed their interests, passions and skills into business ideas they could realistically launch for under $100.

At the same time, teachers, parents and community leaders participate in mentoring and future of work masterclasses designed to strengthen their ability to guide and support young people as they developed their ideas. To ensure learning continued beyond the workshops, BOP Industries also developed a suite of editable Youth Entrepreneurship Modules covering topics including ideation, market research, budgeting, branding, marketing, funding and pitching.

Turning Ideas Into Local Businesses

Throughout the workshops, students explored how the skills, hobbies and interests they already had could become real business opportunities within their own community.

Working in teams, they developed a business concept, created a brand, designed their product or service and prepared a professional pitch before presenting their ideas to local business owners and community leaders. The workshops concluded with students leaving not just with an idea, but with a practical plan for how they could launch their business during the school holidays.

To help turn those ideas into reality, the Shire also established small grants that students could access to purchase materials and begin bringing their ventures to life.

Why This Approach Worked

The Shire of Ashburton recognised that supporting young entrepreneurs isn't just about teaching business skills. It's about creating a community where young people feel encouraged to innovate, supported by local mentors and confident that they can create opportunities without leaving the region.

By investing in students, educators, parents and community leaders together, the initiative created a sustainable model that continues building entrepreneurial capability across the community.

Looking To Support Young Entrepreneurs In Your Region?

Across regional Australia, communities are looking for new ways to retain young talent, strengthen local economies and inspire the next generation of business owners.

At BOP Industries, we partner with local governments, regional development organisations, chambers of commerce and schools to design entrepreneurship initiatives that build skills across entire communities.

From student workshops and mentor training to curriculum resources and long-term program design, we help regional communities create lasting opportunities for young people to innovate, launch businesses and shape the future of where they live.

Get in touch with our team today: www.bopindustries.com/contact-us