Carmarthenshire Markets has extended this year’s edition of the Carmarthenshire Junior Traders Competition to all three of the county’s main towns.

Carmarthenshire Junior Traders Competition 2024 will provide a market trading experience to school teams from Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford, with the aim to encourage our young people to become entrepreneurs of the future.

The competition will see a team from each participating school set up a stall to trade for one day only.

Each team will receive £150.00, which has been funded by local sponsors, to spend on materials or products to sell on their stall.

Pupils will get hands-on experience in setting up a business along with learning key business skills, such as buying at trade cost, buying at discount and haggling for prices.

The Carmarthenshire Junior Traders Competition 2024 will take place at:

• Carmarthen Town Centre on Wednesday, 15 May

• Llanelli Town Centre on Thursday, 16 May

• Ammanford Town Centre on Friday, 17 May

At all the events, the competition will take place adjacent to the markets.

Each team must decide what product or service they wish to sell on the day, but the idea must be their own. Participating pupils are encouraged to plan their idea, buy the products they wish to sell, or the materials used to make their product, brand and decorate their stall and give consideration for a bilingual presentation of their stall.

The criteria for winning the competition is simple - the group that makes the most money, from their single day of trading, wins. Judges will also choose the best-presented stall on the day.

Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Community Cohesion and Planning Policy - Cllr Ann Davies said: “It’s wonderful to see the annual Carmarthenshire Junior Traders Competition being extended this year, as this competition is a great introduction for our young people to the world of business.

“By providing them with a presence at our town markets, we also hope to instil in them the value of a local economy to society.

“I am looking forward to seeing the various business initiatives our young people come up with and encourage everyone to come along and pay a visit to the Junior Traders stalls to show your support.”

The annual Carmarthenshire Junior Traders Competition is aligned with Carmarthenshire County Council’s third well-being objective, which is to enable children and young people to have the best possible start in life.