Confidence appears to be in short supply at the moment. Businesses aren’t as confident about their future prosperity, workers about having on-going full time employment and the unemployed about getting a job. There is one segment of the community that are confident, they are getting prepared to make their mark on the world; school leavers. Could communities better harness this confidence to make our local economies more vibrant? Through C2C (Communication to Careers) I’ve spoken with school leavers who want to be pilots, overseas aid workers, diesel fitters or hairdressers, actors, business consultants, graphic artists; not one has said they want to live on the dole. Some will leave to pursue their ambitions, many will stay keen to demonstrate their enthusiasm when the opportunity arises. However lack of local business confidence will hinder these opportunities. Over time the school leaver who doesn’t start on their desired career path will lose their confidence. The community looses out. How can communities better harness this November confidence boost? Having a University and TAFE is one way. The school leavers who don’t want to get straight back into further study though want jobs, preferably full time jobs. If the local business community can’t satisfy this need could the school leavers create their own jobs? What would a 17 year old know about running a business would be a typical response. Should the education system therefore better prepare students to not just get a job but create jobs. Subjects like Entrepreneurship in secondary school arguably would have a greater impact on decreasing youth unemployment. After all this is the internet generation, businesses don’t have to consist of bricks and mortar. Business is now if it ain’t broke, break it. Innovation is a necessity for business survival. Who better than youth to provide a fresh perspective. They will need help to establish their enterprises from government, business and the community; but this is pro-active help. The over 50 year olds who can’t find work could be used as mentors. The benefit is tapping into an untouched well of confidence, something that currently is in short supply.