Business Works Youth, a new training program for young entrepreneurs in the Nanaimo area aged 15 to 29, provides free training by successful business owners to help participants start their own firm within three months.
“We provide a clear road map,” said program coordinator Charlayne Jones, who brings more than a decade of self-employment experience to Business Works Youth, including several years of training young people in the central Island.
“We provide business planning tools and training to help everyone rise to the challenge ahead.”
Participants don’t even have to quit existing jobs to sign up for the program, which offers flexible hours and online coaching, training and mentoring.
“You can start from your kitchen table right now,” Jones said. “You can experiment, run a prototype project, and work with your idea before deciding to say goodbye to the boss.”
Participants will learn about market research, business plan development, marketing (with emphasis on social media), finance and business operations. Working one-on-one with a business coach, and with the help of mentors, participants will use these skills to launch their own company.
Jones says many young people are drawn to the world of self-employment.
“More and more they’re saying ‘no thanks’ to the conventional job and are busting out of their beige offices to create remarkable lives, on their own terms. They’re taking back control.”
Business Works Youth assists people who are unemployed or working fewer than 20 hours per week. The program has other eligibility requirements, which are explained at www.bwy.ethoscmg.com.
It is offered by Nanaimo-based Ethos Career Management Group, one of the province’s leading training agencies.
For more information, please call 1-877-714-0471, ext. 21 or visit www.bwy.ethoscmg.com.