By MAYBEL CHONG

THEY are in only their second year of study at the polytechnic, but have already assumed managerial roles in the retail business. Such a scenario would hardly be the rule of thumb in any industry.

Yet, this is all made possible as part of an entrepreneurship scheme put together by Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP). Before their 'promotion' to these positions, however, interested students are still required to prove their mettle in order to qualify to run the business - a Cheers outlet located right on campus.

They do so by vying for eight to 10 coveted spots each semester by submitting a written proposal, undergoing an interview and being put through a challenge where they have to market certain products under a given time.

The Business and Accountancy school which runs the programme receives up to over 30 applications from its 46 diploma courses for the scheme every year on average. Successful applicants would then form a Student Management Team (SMT) under the Cheers-NP Student Entrepreneurship Scheme to jointly manage the outlet located at NP's student plaza.

The scheme, which began in October 2006, provides a multi-disciplinary platform for students to gain first-hand experience into the retail business by working with Cheers Holdings. In a semester lasting four months, these students manage the outlet independently whilst under the supervision of a full-time Cheers store manager.

Tjioe Miouw Hoen, deputy director at the School of Business and Accountancy said of the tie-up: 'This interest was put to us by Cheers. We were looking then at bringing in a convenience store to NP. At the same time we wanted the venture to yield some learning value. As such we thought a good way to bring it in is actually to see if there can be some link-up through the curriculum.'

Since then, five such SMTs have taken turns in running the store and feedback from the students involved has been very positive.

Ng Hao Kiat, 19, from the current SMT said that one of the perks of the programme lies in the fact that there are no startup costs involved, like that of running a real business.

The second-year real estate business student said: 'I don't need to fork out my own capital. Cheers has a very good management team. From this I can fine tune what I have learnt to run my own business in the future.'

For Chew Shao Liang, 20, this experience has sealed his convictions to take a different track. The third-year molecular biotechnology student plans to apply instead for a business course in a local university sometime this year, after having thoroughly enjoyed his experience at the Cheers outlet.

'Before I entered poly I was deciding between (my current course) and business and accountancy. This whole programme went beyond my expectations because I initially expected to just to be there to help out. When I was there I was really trained to be a manager of a store. As such when I pursue my degree, I would go for a business course.'

Even though the students found the overall experience meaningful and exciting, things were not always smooth sailing. A common challenge that participants had to face in the course of managing the store was the difficulty of working together as a team.

Business and accountancy student Roxanne Chua, 20, said: 'It was challenging to work with nine other people whom we do not really know.'

Mr Chew added: 'Some people would have a certain idea of how to run a certain event, while others hold different views and opinions. But at the end of the day, we talk things out and draw a clear distinction between friendship and work.'

In the event where students are unable to resolve their problems or differences, they need not fret because help is always readily available. Wong Tze Shiaw, staff adviser to the SMT, meets the students at least once a week to ensure things are running smoothly.

She said: 'When we are organising events, there's a need for students to coordinate and it gets challenging for them sometimes. Most of the time, the students are able to face up to the challenge. It is only when they are unable to resolve problems by themselves then they'd ask for help.'

On the whole, Ms Wong, who is a lecturer at the School of Business and Accountancy, said that the students have performed well on this scheme. 'I would say most of the time they exceeded expectations. I think we should always give credit to these youths; they are capable of a lot if they put their minds to it. If they are interested in what they are doing, they will excel.'

In fact, for three of the students, their experience with Cheers-NP has more than just piqued their interest of running a business. They have actually put their hands to the plough.

Just last year, one semester after he was part of the SMT, Mr Chew recently started his own travel venture called 'TravLEasy' with fellow participants - Royston Lau and Ms Chua, both in their third year of study.

The agency will be organising trips for schools seeking to send batches of students abroad for learning enrichment purposes or to perform community services. For their start-up, the polytechnic provided them with a seed funding of $3,000 - enough to meet their initial costs.

Mr Lau, 20 said: 'From our experience at Cheers, we have learnt life skills like the art of negotiation, inter-personal relationships, coordinating and communication. These traits are all applicable in doing business in real life.'

Drawing a parallel from her role as head of marketing as part of her SMT experience last year, Ms Chua said she has learned practical lessons such as handling publicity campaigns for her current travel business.

'I have picked up invaluable skills I can put in practice such as trying to see what a publicity message conveys. This would not be possible if not for a very practical hands-on experience.'

This article was first published in The Business Times.