Press Release
29 November 2010
Press release – Merthyr
The Big Pitch
Two teams of students from Merthyr Tydfil College were runners up at the Big Pitch Challenge which took place at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay last night (Thursday) as part of Merthyr Tydfil’s Global Enterprise Week.
The challenge involved eight teams from four different colleges preparing and presenting their ideas on how best to market a new visitor centre for Rhymney Brewery which will be relocating to Blaenavon, Torfean, near to the Big Pit, in March 2011.
On the night, Nick Hewer of BBC 1’s The Apprentice fame took a break from judging aspiring apprentices in London to judge the next generation of business talent cultivated in the South Wales Valleys.
Nick, who has been Lord Sugar’s right hand man and PR consultant for more than 25 years was joined by three other judges, to cast their votes on eight teams of college students from four further education colleges in the Valleys. This was part of Merthyr Tydfil’s Global Enterprise Week in conjunction with the Heads of the Valleys Innovation Programme (HOVIP), where the idea originated, and a project team including representatives from the colleges and the Welsh Assembly Government.
On talking about the evening Nick said: “I thought the concept of the evening was well constructed and the calibre of the students’ presentations was excellent.
“The level of enthusiasm from all of the students that took part surpassed my expectations and I was delighted to be involved in such an energetic event.”
In preparation for the event the teams from Coleg Gwent, Coleg Morgannwg, Merthyr Tydfil College and The College Ystrad Mynach visited Rhymney Brewery and the visitor centre at Penderyn Distillery. The students also attended a number of workshops to develop the skills needed to complete the task.
The workshops covered marketing and presentation skills and how to write a press release and were delivered by local business people: Chris James director of CIOTEK Ltd., Helen Murdoch, managing director of Helen Murdoch Marketing Ltd. and Eryl Jones, managing director of Equinox Communications.
On the night the teams delivered a short presentation including a costed marketing plan and ideas for the visitor centre experience, and responded to questions from the judges. In preparation for the final, the teams also submitted press releases to support the pitch.
Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, said the event highlighted the benefits for students working on live business projects.
"This is a great experience for students and provides them with a real flavour of the business world, while developing their entrepreneurial skills. This project is linked to the Welsh Assembly Government's new Big Ideas Wales campaign and the Youth Entrepreneurial Strategy to inspire and motivate young people to consider starting a business and increase their awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities.
"It's important that we enable our young people to have confidence in their ideas and offer support for entrepreneurs. By doing so, we can nurture those ideas and give people the confidence to take that all-important step towards starting their own business. "
Phil Burkhard, HOVIP programme manager, said: “Each team has worked incredibly hard and we have all been delighted by the high quality of what has been submitted. All the students can be congratulated on completing the journey which has additionally helped to further inspire Rhymney Brewery.
“Feedback from the Judges on the Merthyr teams was excellent. They thought the students had a confident presenting style and were impressed by the consideration of different target audiences. They also like the positive reference to highlighting the nutritional value of the product and the link of real ale to real food.”
Steve Evans, managing director of Rhymney Brewery, said: “It was a fantastic evening and I am proud to have been involved in such an enterprising opportunity for young people.
“The standard of work and ideas far surpassed anything that I expected and the young people involved should be encouraged by their performance. I’m sure that we will be implementing many of their ideas when our centre opens next year.”
The event took place at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay, the judges that accompanied Nick Hewer with his decision were Steve Evans, chairman of Rhymney Brewery, Sharon Phillips, business development manager for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and Eryl Jones, managing director of Equinox Communications.
Notes to editors:
- Film footage of the Big Pitch final available on request. Please contact Nathan Webb, Anytime Films, on 01495 312670 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Sponsors of the event are:
- Heads of the Valleys Innovation Programme
- Equinox Communications
- Merthyr Tydfil Enterprise Group
- Four Further Education Colleges are taking part in this event through entrepreneurship education funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, through the revised Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy 2010-15 (YES). For more information on YES and the BigIdeasWales campaign, please go to www.bigideaswales.com.
- The event is supported by the Welsh Assembly Government
- The Heads of the Valleys Innovation Programme (HOVIP) is now in its third phase. In the last 2 years alone, HOVIP has helped 175 businesses achieve over £1 million, mainly in additional business, and is contributing to safeguarding 539 jobs (www.hovip.org.uk).
HOVIP is part funded by the Welsh Assembly Government (Heads of the Valleys) and is hosted by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council on behalf of five local authorities: Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Torfaen.
For media Enquires please contact Katie Brandon at Equinox Communications on 02920764100 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it