Sunday 4 November 2012

Team v and Lord Sugar's Young Apprentice


As I watched Young Apprentice on Thursday night I followed the reaction on Twitter which was overwhelmingly critical of everything the candidates did (or didn’t do) and said.  Of course the nature and style of the programme invites the audience to laugh at mistakes made and cringe at overly bold statements and I would be lying if I said I didn’t share those responses.  But as a fan of rose-tinted spectacles I always try to look on the bright side and see the good in people – call me naive but I think there’s enough miserableness (that’s a word, right?) and grumpy people in this world without me becoming one of them.    

My brother runs an awesome site that looks at Young Adult TV - any programmes/series made for, and about, teens.  He asked if I’d like to write about the first episode of Young Apprentice and I jumped at the chance of finally doing something related to my degree (Film with Television Studies) two years after graduating.  When I told him my piece was focused more on the overall concept and I was putting a positive spin on it he joked ‘really?!’ and basically wished me luck... 



I’ve met some incredible young people, especially the bunch I was lucky enough to be accepted onto the Team v programme with.  Bursting with energy and ideas for how they want to change the world, I’ve been amazed by how they’ve already made an impact in their communities in only a few weeks.  As one of the Team v leaders bordering on vInspired’s maximum age limit, seeing those up to six years younger than me take on this project alongside their college/uni/work commitments and do so with more confidence than I could dream of having even now, never mind at that age, has been inspiring.  

Organisations such as vInspired are vital in giving young people the tools to fulfil their ambitions and contribute to society in positive ways.  Just like Lord Sugar’s twelve candidates the 105 Team v leaders have been given an amazing opportunity to show what we’re made of.  We may not get £25,000 at the end of our programme, but I have no doubt that the skills, knowledge and confidence we develop will be priceless for the rest of our lives.  

You can read my attempt at an upbeat look at Young Apprentice here and check out the other brilliant posts on Young Adult TV while you’re there. 




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