A bath which pours itself to the right depth and temperature at just the right time – that's the business brainwave which this week won a team of Redcar & Cleveland College students top prize in a competition aimed at developing budding entrepreneurs.

The four strong team, calling their company “The Bath People”, devised the idea of an electronically-controlled bath which could be preset to pour itself ready for its owners return from work – adding bubbles if needed. The owner could even text on the way home, ordering the bath to start pouring.

The winners were just one team from the 200-plus students who took part in the college’s ‘Ride the Wave’ programme, an innovative three-day event aimed at boosting their enterprise skills and improving their employability prospects.

They were one of six teams which won their group competitions, with the winners all receiving cash prizes.

The students engaged in a number of hands-on group activities to develop a business plan, in such areas as sales and finance, with the help of experts from local business. The experts advised them on their ideas before the teams came back to pitch to them in a Dragon’s Den style meeting.

Student Daniel Hunter of The Bath People said:

“I wasn’t very enthusiastic at first but by the end I really enjoyed it. I know I am shy but by day three I took on more of a leading role and I now know I can be successful”.

One of the experts, Sue Pattison of Mouchel, said:

“We were all impressed with the quality of the ideas and the enthusiasm of the students. The overall winners, The Bath People, were especially impressive with the team having a good product idea, working well as a team and thinking on their feet when it came to answering difficult questions from the experts.”

The programme, which is entering its fifth year, aims to give students a taste of what it is like to set up their own business.

David Wilson from PD Ports, who has been involved in the event on the panel of business experts, said:

“I have been involved with ‘Ride the Wave’ from the outset and the experience is always rewarding. Importantly it provides an opportunity for local businesses to engage with students to give them the benefit of our experience and improve their prospects for gaining employment – an outcome which proves beneficial for all parties.”

As well as helping students develop commercial awareness, business language skills, negotiation and presentation skills and improving their self-confidence, which all boost their employability, everyone who goes through the programme can receive a formal recognition by achieving either a Level 1 or Level 2 qualification such as ‘Working With Others’ Wider Key Skill or the Communication Key Skill.

Gary Groom, Principal of Redcar & Cleveland College said:

“In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to ensure that our students are instilled with the spirit of enterprise that will help give them that extra edge when they enter the world of work.

“Every full-time student at Redcar & Cleveland College experiences ‘Ride the wave’ and students who went through the programme last year are already seeing the benefits with employers seeking out some of the more innovative students and offering sponsorships for business ideas.”