Education charity Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) has appointed three new entrepreneurial ambassadors; Prof Sir Jim McDonald, Poonam Gupta OBE and Peter Proud.

With a tenure of at least one year, Peter’s role as YES ambassador will see him help connect the charity with business leaders, companies and trusts with a view to raising awareness of the enterprise programmes – which are delivered to more than 1,500 young people from primary school through to college.

Peter Proud 

Now Founder and CEO of Forrit, a rapidly growing global software business headquartered in Edinburgh, Peter confesses to dreaming of a different career at school.

“My ambition at school was to be a fast jet pilot. I was devastated when I passed the initial tests only to be failed on having legs that are too long. It was all I had ever wanted to be,” he said.

As part of an extended ambassador programme, Peter will also visit schools, interact with students on YES courses and host events.

“It is not just about the key skills that young people need to enter the world of work, it is about attributes. It is about having the ability to accept different points of view. To be able to communicate efficiently and effectively and to be able to work in a team. My experience tells me that it is not always the one that does the best job who is successful but the one that communicates it well. Leadership skills are key – you can go fast alone but not far alone – harness the collective thought.”

“All students have different skills and learn in different ways. We need to help each young person really know what they excel at. To recognise what their strengths and weaknesses are and help them achieve the best they can” added Peter.

Find out more:

Young Enterprise Scotland www.yes.org.uk 

Forrit www.forrit.com