Trafalgar Wharf
Portsmouth Helps Train “Richard Branson’s” Of The Future.
Trafalgar Wharf, the former
Vosper Thorneycroft shipyard at Portchester, has teamed up with young
entrepreneurs from Portsmouth Business School to offer an ‘Apprentice-style’ business
challenge.
A small team of students
studying Business Management Degrees have been set the task of finding new ways
for the marine-based business to make money.
“When we first opened Trafalgar
Wharf in 2008, there was zero income,” Trafalgar Wharf MD Jonny Boys explains. “Now
we have a turnover of £3 Million and directly employ 20 people. But our
potential is much greater. That’s why we’ve asked the students to come up with
ideas, carry out research, work out the likely return on investment and devise
an implementation plan with timescales for projects that will help us make
money”.
The students are studying
marketing and business strategy as part of their degree and the partnership
with Trafalgar Wharf enables them to put their ideas into action in the real
world. It’s something that Jonny hopes
will benefit the local economy and provide a real link between academia and
business.
“This partnership will give
the students a great experience in working as a team and under pressure. That’s
something you can’t learn from a textbook. Who knows, maybe they’ll become the
Richard Branson’s of the future and with a bit of luck, base their huge company
in Portsmouth.”
Photo: names from left to
right:
Simon Oatley, Operations
Director, Trafalgar Wharf, Christian Esdougha, Jingwen Luo-Serena,
Zongyi Li (Kevin), Francheska Lumabas, Co-ordinator, Nick Oakes, Team Leader.
