International trade is one of the most important things you can learn about at any stage of your life. Whether it’s your toothbrush or your PS4, many of the products that you need and love will have been made overseas and exported into your homes.
About The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is the world’s leading youth achievement award that develops over 400,000 young people for life and work every year in the UK, including nearly 50,000 from disadvantaged backgrounds. Founded by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 1956, the DofE is currently being delivered in DofE centres such as schools, youth clubs and prisons.
Anyone aged between 14 and 24 can do a programme at one of the three progressive levels which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. There are four sections at Bronze and Silver level; volunteering, physical, skills and expedition, with a Residential section at Gold.
Young people will achieve a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award if they show persistence, commitment and personal development over a period of time. Completing a DofE programme equips young people for life and work, and is recognised by employers and universities alike. Through their DofE journeys young people develop resilience, confidence and a ‘can do’ attitude as well as the social and communication skills that businesses are calling out for.
What is export all about?
What is export?
Since human beings have been able to travel they have sold excess goods or produce to neighbouring villages, towns, cities and even countries!
Do you know where the first ships sailed to? And what they were carrying?
This project introduces you to the fascinating and vital world of international trade.
READ MOREWhat do you sell?
What do you sell?
There are lots of different products out there from things we take for granted like toilet rolls or toothbrushes to high-end games consoles. Some products rely on being cheaper to buy while others rely on being the best in their field.
Things that sell well are always, in some way, innovative though...
READ MOREWhere do you sell it?
Where will you sell it?
A market is somewhere you sell your product. Marketing is what you do to sell your product there.
When looking to sell your product to a new market you should think about who is already using it in your own market. Who buys it currently, how do they use it and how much are they willing to spend on it?
How do you get it there?
How will you get it there?
How expensive will it be to transport your goods? Will you need specialist packing? If it’s food you're sending it may need to be refrigerated. If it’s fragile it may need additional packaging to ensure it travels safely.
Sometimes packaging is designed for marketing the product, other times to encourage safe use...
READ MOREHow do you get paid?
How will you get paid?
There are numerous ways of collecting money. This may sound strange but they all have a cost attached to them.
Did you know that every time you use a credit card the person you are buying from pays between 2-6% of the value of the transaction to the credit card company?
There is always a catch...
READ MOREStart your export plan
Start your Export Plan
The best thing you can do when starting to export is to do your research and to plan. Using your learnings from the previous sections, you can now go about creating your own export plan.
Make sure to think about what you're selling, where you're selling to, how you'll market it, how you'll get paid, and how you'll get it there...
Start Your Export Plan