Warrington will welcome back young traders, aged between 16 and 30, with the return of Warrington’s Young Traders Market in June.
The multi-award winning Warrington Market is joining several markets across the country to offer trading opportunities and business support to budding entrepreneurs.
The Young Traders Market is a countrywide initiative run by the National Market Traders Federation (NMTF), which aims to nurture young talent by encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs to trade at traditional markets.
Warrington Market is set to bring this initiative back to the town centre after a year’s hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, by hosting a local event on Saturday 5 June. The event will also double as a competition with big prizes to be won, as well as recognition and promotion for the businesses involved.
One of this year’s entrants, Christopher Walster, is the reigning North West Young Trader of the Year. Chris took part in last year’s online regional finals and has also created the artwork for this year’s Warrington event.
He said: “I’m so excited to finally be returning to Warrington after such a long and difficult year. I’ve loved working with the Warrington team and I jumped at the chance to provide this year’s artwork – to see my work large scale and up inside the market has been such a buzz!
“It’s so great to see that the event is really coming back with a bang too, with a huge line-up of young talent. I’m really looking forward to seeing everything come together on the day.”
Over 50 young people have registered their interest to be involved on the day, with the market team also partnering with Warrington Music to host a young talent live music stage as part of the event.
Warrington Market trader, Rob Leicester, who runs Warrington Fruit and Veg, and is a previous Young Trader of the Year champion after winning the competition in 2018, will return to the event this year, this time in the role of a judge.
He said: “Since becoming an ambassador for young market traders across the UK, I've found myself driven with responsibility to help, encourage, and hopefully inspire young people like myself in their early years of trading. It’s great that I can continue my Young Traders journey by taking on the role of judge at this year’s event.”
Paul Blaney, Operations Manager at Warrington Market and Cllr Tom Jennings, cabinet member for economic development and innovation, will make up the rest of this year’s judging panel for the Warrington heat on 5 June.
Cllr Jennings said: “The Young Traders Market is a great initiative and I’m so pleased we can welcome this hugely popular event back to Warrington this year. It’s always so encouraging to see so many talented young people come together to showcase their talents and promote their businesses.
“The council has invested in the state-of-art new Warrington Market, which is a fantastic example of how markets are working now and will continue to thrive into the future. We want to ensure there are opportunities available for the next generation of traders so that we can continue to champion local, independent businesses in Warrington.
“I’m proud to be judging the Warrington heat next month and really looking forward to seeing the work of so many talented young people in one place.”
Warrington Market has also been asked by the NMTF to be the host of the North West Regional Final on Saturday 3 July, which will see a collection of winners from both the Warrington heat and from across the region come together for the chance to win a spot at the national finals which take place in Stratford-upon-Avon in August.
Warrington Young Traders Market takes will take place from 9am on Saturday 5 June – for more information, follow the market’s social pages – @Warringtonmkt – visit warrington.gov.uk/market or email markets@warrington.gov.uk