BUSINESS students have tasted harsh 'overseas' factory conditions in a pioneering project highlighting the importance of people as well as profit.

From September it will be a statutory requirement for all secondary schools to provide 'enterprise education' for Key Stage 4 pupils as part of work-related learning studies.

It is part of the government's vision to give pupils a better understanding of their future role and responsibility in the economic community.

And in advance of the new requirement pupils across Lancashire have been given enterprise taster sessions by 10 trainee business studies teachers set to qualify from Edge Hill College in Ormskirk.

They include 46 year eight pupils at Witton Park High School Business and Enterprise College, Blackburn who have been treated to an enterprise taster day.

The event included a computer simulation of a Mexican factory, and a mock production line which was made as authentic as possible with participants each given characters who were 'sacked' if they were deemed too slow or found to be pregnant!

Trainee teacher Jane Houghton-Fleming, from Old Langho, was among the organisers.

She said: "The aim was to show the pupils that there is more to business than just making profits and encourage them to examine issues of corporate social responsibility within large multinationals.

"As part of the day pupils were asked to play the parts of workers at a Mexican computer factory.

"They were given uncompleted computer mother boards and ordered to finish 10 within 20 minutes.

"Anyone who was deemed too slow or caught talking were sacked on the spot, as was anyone seen talking to the union representative."

Mock interviews were also undertaken as part of the event and to highlight the low wages paid to overseas workers the pupils were paid at the same rate as their Mexican counterparts.

"The idea was to make things as real as possible and as part of the day pupils wrote to multi-national companies asking them to give more consideration to corporate social responsibility."

Other bodies providing enterprise education initiatives include The Lancashire Education Business Partnership.

It is organising programmes for secondary schools across the county and its projects range from assessing the skills needed to become an entrepreneur to pupils developing their own meals on wheels company.

Recent projects include an enterprise / employability day looking at leadership skills with 144 year 10 pupils from Gawthorpe High School in Padiham earlier this month.