A youth entrepreneurship forum and workshop geared at assisting young people who are interested in starting their own business has been launched.
The forum which was held at the Dominica Public Service Union was hosted by the Youth Development Division (YDD) in collaboration with the Dominica Youth Business Trust (DYBT) and CUSO.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Tuesday Coordinator of the Dominica Youth Business Trust, Ceasarina Paul, urged students to take advantage of the forum.
“It is timely then for each of us to seek to direct and for us the DYBT, the YDD and the National Youth Council, and CUSO to seek to direct our young talented men and women toward utilizing skills and knowledge, talents and passion thereby transferring them into creative means of survival,” she stated.
She added that this activity is fitting for Global Entrepreneurship week.
“Today gives each of you a chance to explore outside of the ordinary to explore the concept and techniques of doing businesses as unusual and to network with others as doing like ambitions and passions. I urge each of you, to do what the DYBT, YDD, NYC along with CUSO desire that is to make today count,” Paul noted.
In the meantime, Chief Youth Development Officer John Roach called young people to play a role in the economic development of the country.
“We are identifying and also helping young people to see or explore the possibilities, especially the economic possibilities that exist therein as far as creative arts and music is concerned, because too often we tend to remain with the traditional business ideas and because of the level of competitions that exist in those traditional ideas people run out of ideas and things don’t work,” Roach remarked.
He said “the talent that was given to you by God is a talent that you can use to make wealth for yourself.”
Students from across the island including the Dominica State College are currently participating in the workshop.
training the youth to be sucessful entrepreneur. is an excellent. idea because is nog every young citizen of DOminica who will be able to get a job upon living school. going into a business. especially at an early age end up to be sucessfull business owners
It appears that the people who are promoting entrepreneurship have the concept all mixed up. Millions of dollars are being spent on training young people to start their own business, how many businesses that have been set up since the small business unit started.
Training of young people for the existing work place would be much more economical to our country.
As it is now, money is being wasted. Imagine 400 persons are being sent to work places without training and government is going to pay. The wisdom of this initiative must be scrutinized.
DNO I am prepared to submit an analysis of this 400 jobs program, the pros and cons. If you are willing to publish, please advise.
maam.. the persons who go through this and other programmes such as WEL are trained on various aspects of entrepreneurship including customer service, leadership and writing the business plan. I do not have statistics of success rates (and sucess an be relative eh as someone can abandon an original business plan and go for another more realistic field, project etc).. please do not discount the importance of such projects
most of the people who go through these programmes have a natural passion for the business they are getting into, some would nave never been able to pursue past their dream if it were not for these workshops.
I would advise you to talk to Youth Division and peace corp office and ask about their programmes.
Fool Shut up…………you probably broke as hell and uneducated…..Chewps