North Vancouver high school students, including a growing cohort of girls, are getting a head start learning entrepreneurship skills before graduation thanks to a unique education program.
The Young Entrepreneurship and Leadership Launchpad (YELL) program at the North Vancouver School District aims to give Grade 11 and 12 students the tools they need before entering the real world.
YELL launched in the North Vancouver School District roughly seven years ago, offered at Handsworth and Sutherland Secondary. Handsworth teacher Sheri Johnson said she has seen more girls take part in the program and business courses over time, which is something to YELL about.
“It’s actually something that I’m really excited about,” Johnson said, reflecting on the business courses she’s taught. “It’s been great to watch that change, where I would say now in some of the classes, I have more females than males in there.”
Students in the YELL program learn entrepreneurship through a series of lessons in the classroom as well as in the community working with industry leaders. As the program continues, students form groups to create a business venture. The YELL program wraps up with a Dragon’s Den type of experience called the Venture Challenge, where student teams across B.C. compete and present their business venture to a panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs, investors and community members.
Grade 12 Handsworth Secondary student Elizabeth Bromley participated in the program last year. Her group created a sustainable bicycle tire design that will not pop or rupture.
Bromley was set on entering a science career path before taking part in YELL, but after completing the program she is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in commerce.
“It’s quite intimidating to enter a field that is very predominantly male dominated,” Bromley said. “It’s also important to see that women are succeeding in that area as well, knowing women are just as capable as men to run businesses.”
While women entrepreneurs are making progress, they still face challenges.
A study from the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub from 2024 says women business ownership is growing. In 2023, approximately 18.4 per cent of all businesses were majority owned by women in Canada, compared to 15.6 per cent in 2017.
Female entrepreneurs still earn less, with 37.1 per cent earning less than $50,000 annually, compared to 31.7 per cent of male entrepreneurs.
Grade 12 Handsworth student Alena Tkacheva is currently in the YELL program, and says it helped solidify her decision to go the business route after high school.
“It’s a really great experience to listen to people who are actually involved in business already, and to learn about their experience,” Tkacheva said. “Right now, I’m just really sure of my decision.”
Tkacheva’s group is still working out the nuts and bolts of their Venture Challenge project, but they came up with the idea of creating a “magic” powder that decomposes dog feces to reduce plastic waste.
YELL participants are encouraged to incorporate UN sustainable goals into their projects, Johnson said.
By showing and providing more opportunities for students through the YELL program, it can help expand people’s minds to different careers, Johnson said.
“It’s just a matter of providing more opportunities for young women to see other people out there doing things, because often we only know what we know,” she said. “You only see what you see in school, what your parents do, etc. The more opportunities and things that you get to see, the more experiences you have, then it opens up the world.”
People can head to the North Vancouver School District’s website to learn more about the YELL program.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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