Courses for Job Club Leaders - Part 1 (Update No 1 - 8 January 2012)

Received news and documentation of the governmental interest in work clubs and enterprise clubs - how to set up and run them. I now believe that the "job club movement" is going to become institutionalised. Will training and education catch hold this movement and create certificates, diplomas, degrees, masters degrees and doctors degrees? I learned this morning that Douglas College has a certificate in "job club leadership"!

Having researched for setting up a job club network, I now appreciate how much I did not know before I started and how much I want/need to know - to be really effective. (No course was available - I should say that I did not find one!) If I were to work up a course syllabus I would want to understand who are the end-users (members of job clubs) and what are their requirements. Here one is into niche marketing.

So far my research suggests end-users will be categorised in no particular order as :

• return-to-work mothers;
• graduates seeking employment or internships;
• school-leavers wanting apprenticeships;
• inventors wanting to protect their ideas (patents, etc) and then licence-out or start-up a business etc;
• those with a product or service idea who want to start a business;
• recently or not recently unemployed wanting to get employment;
• those with a small business wanting to develop or to expand;
• keen-to-work persons with disabilities or health problems;
• former business owners wanting to move into employment;
• individuals at the first or a later threshold working life and without an inkling of the potential for themselves in the world of work; and,
• etc, etc.

A syllabus-deliverer has his or her work cut out to create a course for job club leaders where each will have that mix of group! Is it feasible to have such a mix...?

Today (9 January 2012) I found information about a USAID course for job club leaders in Argentina. Must now seek details of the syllabus!
http://mazedonien-nachrichten.blogspot.com/2011/12/job-club-re-opens-in-strumica.html

Starting a Business No 2 - Business Link Courses

Twenty or so of us sat for nearly three hours to listen and talk about starting a new business. The morning course was set-up by Sevenoaks District Council and was delivered by Business Link South East.

The speaker's style was informal and was inter-active - we were kept on or toes so to speak. The aim was to examine "starting a business". This was in the sense that by the end of the session a participant would go away fired-up to take on (or perhaps not) his or her idea for a business.

Self-commitment to the numerous tasks ahead was made obvious to all. The exploratory approach meant that many of the self-examine worksheets of questions could not be completed in the time available. This was entirely acceptable because the broad nature of the insight given would enable the wannabee business-eer to take a suitable period for the work-up to commitment.

A few had already started their business so the opportunity to network was taken by all - business cards, email addresses or telephone numbers were exchanged by those prepared to seek or do business.

Business Link offer a range of developmental opportunities - courses going deeper into the topics introduced in this first session.

Hopefully 20 new businesses or recently established will prosper as a result of the day's workshop session - they should do so with the kind of grounding on offer.