Empowering Youth in Northern B.C.
YELL North supports rural and remote communities throughout Northern B.C. Our team advocates youth talent retention, economic diversification and sustainable growth through youth involvement and equal opportunity to access entrepreneurial skills development.
Rural Community Impact
Often the picture is painted that innovation happens only in big cities, but in reality it can happen anywhere. We actively support our students to become part of the next generation of entrepreneurs, creatives and technologists by developing their entrepreneurial and growth mindset. A mindset that can pivot when you get stuck, see challenge as your friend, develop your curiosity on how you can impact the world, and be able to present your idea – even if you are an introvert.
We create a network of school district alumni with successful business ventures and an entrepreneurial mindset to inspire and support students as mentors. With “motive brings energy” as a guiding theme, we continue to create accessibility for youth in rural and remote communities similar to that in bigger B.C. centres so rural communities can flourish and retain young talent.
Let YELL open the door to opportunities!
YELL Entrepreneurship 12 is designed to help students explore career paths, build connections to the business community and hear from diverse perspectives. Our curriculum is more than just building businesses, it is about sparking creative and innovative thinking and developing the growth mindset in Northern BC youth. Our students walk away from our course with more self-confidence, the ability to present their ideas and collaborate well with others. Currently, YELL is offered in Vanderhoof, Terrace, Quesnel, and Fort St John.
iCUBED Summit
The iCUBED (Invention, Innovation & Integration) Summit is an annual event that kickstarts and exposes Northern BC youth to innovative businesses and helps grow their entrepreneurial mindset. iCUBED brings in all available resources and innovation into the centre of Northern BC in the shape of speakers from government, First Nations leaders, post secondary institutions and local industries and businesses. It also showcases business pitches from our YELL North classes, exhibits of BC Innovation, and career advancement, networking and scholarship opportunities.
The annual event spreads enthusiasm for the entrepreneurship mindset and challenges students to think differently about their career possibilities. By nurturing the next generation to pursue business opportunities and new ideas in B.C.’s North, local businesses can help keep youth in the community and grow its long-term sustainable economic future.
Our playlist from our Burns Lake students on what they loved about the course:
YELL TEAM – NORTH
![[themify_icon icon="ti-linkedin" link="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hutcheon-b272789/" icon_color="#ffffff"]](https://yellcanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/3-e1606441315224.jpg "3")
Matt has 25 years of experience in advising businesses, non-profits and First Nations. His expertise focuses on building and using financial systems and reporting to enable better planning, financial management and decision-making by organizations. His work with clients often includes elements of business strategy and growth.
In addition to running his own consulting practice and a few other entrepreneurial ventures, Matt has had plenty of involvement in programs and organizations which support entrepreneurs, both in staff and volunteer roles. Matt was the CEO of the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce for nearly three years before his move to British Columbia in 2014. In Prince George, Matt served as the Executive Director for Innovation Central Society, a regional technology accelerator, from April 2016 to the end of 2017.
On a volunteer basis, Matt has been involved as an advisor to the Enactus chapter at St. Lawrence College and the AIESEC chapter at Queen’s University. He held national and international leadership positions with Junior Chamber International (JCI) and is currently on the Board of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
OUR PARTNERS
It takes a community to raise a generation of innovators, see our partners below.
Are you interested in YELL?
If you are a student who’s interested in enrolling in the YELL program, a passionate school district or teacher who’d like to bring the program to your school, or from the local community and interested in getting involved with YELL, please get in touch with our Northern BC Team to learn more.