The Clare VEC Enterprise Development Programme is designed to
facilitate unemployed people in their efforts to
determine the feasibility of a business idea and to
develop the skills necessary to establish and run their
own enterprise. Personal development skills such as
communications , project and time management and problem
solving complement the three core strands of the course.
The first is groupwork in which topics are introduced in a general
way, before being analysed in one to one work to relate
the introduced topic to the particular idea for
enterprise a participant has.
Secondly the use and effect of Information Technology such as computers, faxes, modems, scanners, and The Internet etc. are exploited. Finance
and book-keeping are covered in the third strand.
The intermediate goal to enterprise set-up is the drawing up of a business plan on the basis of which the relevant state and community
agencies may be approached for assistance and/or
guidance. Participants are encouraged to develop their
own abilities, to research and assess information, of
self-reliance and continuous learning. They are aided in
this by the compilation of relevant contacts and
reference material by the Programme facilitator.
A learning environment is cultivated where the participants have ownership of their ideas, which is flexible and allows participants to see
things through to a point where a rational decision is
made to continue, modify or to terminate a particular
line of action. This programme is experiential, that is, people learn from doing.
The first of the four phases of the course looks at idea generation and the area of entrepreneurship. The second phase is the
feasibility study and drawing up of a business plan.
These two parts last for a year and the participant is
entitled to earn while receiving his/her social welfare
entitlement. The remaining stages concern the mentored
pre start-up and on-going trading experience.
Recruitment for each course
starts with interviews in September. To apply for the course please use the application form. More details of the
course and the list of course participants are available
from the course director, Mr. Dónal O'Bearra.
