Shell’s £1m backing for agency

Aug 7 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A NORTH East training and enterprise agency has won a £1m contract to develop a prestigious global programme for young entrepreneurs.

The PNE Group’s contract to deliver the Shell LiveWIRE International project has been renewed for a further three years. It works to boost youth enterprise in 23 countries, ranging from the Netherlands to Pakistan and Singapore.

PNE has worked with more than five million young people worldwide since the scheme started in 1999. Each new business established under the project leads to an average of three jobs and last year it was responsible for creating more than 9,000 jobs worldwide.

Sandy Ogilvie, chief executive of the PNE Group and director of Shell LiveWIRE International, said: “I think it’s very exciting news that Shell International is continuing to back an agency based in the North East to develop and deliver one of its flagship global social investment programmes. It’s recognition that PNE is a leading global authority on the provision of world-class enterprise support.

“This new contract with Shell will ensure that LiveWIRE International continues to develop innovative ways to meet the changing needs of enterprising young people across the globe, and to strengthen its role as the world’s leading youth enterprise initiative.”

Four people are directly employed to work on the global projects, in addition to trainers and IT support also provided by PNE staff. The group looks at new countries which may be suitable areas to launch LiveWIRE, carries out feasibility studies, puts together programmes and finds local staff to run the schemes on the ground.

Mr Ogilvie said: “We provide the overarching glue to make sure each of the country programmes benefit from the others. So if a new programme was launched in Argentina, we would pass it on to other countries. We run regional meetings where we pull the programmes together. Under the principles we operate, the programme has to be delivered in the first language of the country. We only employ and train local nationals in that country.”

Tyneside-based PNE, which has offices in Newcastle and Gateshead, also offers advice and support to local business start-ups.

“We have incubator workspace, we have our own micro-loans and we do a lot of work in training,” said Mr Ogilvie.

Around a third of the group’s business is directly related to the Shell LiveWIRE brand and it is also responsible for overseeing the UK branch of the scheme.