HAVING won the title of Large Business Of The Year in 2005, the CPP Group Plc, one of York's biggest employers, is now setting its sights on the Best Business And Education Link accolade in The Press Business Awards, 2006.

The Holgate Park company has carried out a wide range of community involvement programmes which have stirred in young people throughout the region a huge interest in business and commercial creativity.

Its Ideas In Action competition was designed for local students to apply innovative thinking and tools to real life problems, with amazing rewards for creative solutions both for the schools and individuals.

Using a CPP innovation toolkit and specialist support workshops provided by the company, students in four-person teams from 15 schools were asked to come up with new products and services to address the challenges people face every day.

At stake was a school prize of £2,000 with individual prizes of £200. The winning entry came from two 15-year-old pupils from Canon Lee Arts College, in Rawcliffe, York, whose product idea, SimSafe, offers a complete online back-up of a customer's mobile phone data, including synchronisation, tracking and other advanced features.

Stand by for the next search for entrepreneurial brilliance among the region's pupils in 2007.

CPP, in association with North Yorkshire Business and Enterprise Partnership (NYBEP), also created a suite of workshops to develop 14-16 year-olds' skills and understanding in four key areas customer service, ICT in business, job seeking skills and a topic called Managing Your Money.

Paul Murphy, executive director of NYBEP, said: "Every secondary school and York College has benefited from the enthusiasm and knowledge of CPP this year.

"A total of 14 teachers and lecturers have accessed CPP business training courses ranging from leadership and management to curriculum specific support.

"In addition, an astounding 1,100 students between the ages of 14 and 19 have in some way engaged with the company to enhance their experience of the world of work and gain important understanding and knowledge that will contribute to their studies."