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Venture forth: A description of a training package on suitability for self‐employment

MAP WILLMER

Industrial and Commercial Training

ISSN: 0019-7858

Article publication date: 1 December 1981

36

Abstract

Redundancy, although viewed by many as a social evil, is also seen by some people as a lime of opportunity. It is after all the first time a large proportion of the population has received such substantial amounts of money. In some cases this is spent on expensive imported goods and luxury holidays: in others it is the chance to fulfil some life‐long dream of running their own business — a village store, a pub in the country, a boarding house at the seaside. Thus, when there is a call for volunteers to be made redundant, those with a strong inner urge to be their own boss are quick to apply. Amongst these applicants of course are many of the firm's best workers and sadly as John Wellens noted in the October edition of Industrial and Commercial Training: “In a way, it has its pathetic side, because many of those who feel the urge the strongest are the very people who actually need the security of permanent and assured employment in a safe job with a guaranteed wage.” In other words the volunteers will include many whom the company cannot afford to lose and who are not suited to going into business on their own. There is therefore a clear need for personnel officers to be able not only to identify such workers but also to have the means to persuade them that they should remain as employees. Unless special care is taken such persuasion attempts can lead to discontent. Ideally the learning process should be one of self‐realisation in which workers can find out for themselves whether or not they have the necessary qualities to go it alone. It was to give people such an experience, to help them learn what it is like to be their own boss before they put their own resources on the line, that the business simulation VENTURE FORTH was developed. It is a computer experience designed to give participants insights into their entrepreneurial attitudes and capabilities and explores such questions as: • have you the right temperament to be your own boss? • can you strike a good bargain or are you taken for a sucker? • can you cope with the taxman? • can you forecast consumers' needs? • can you cope with the unexpected? • can you establish commercial credibility? • can you gather reliable commercial intelligence, appreciate its full significance and make sound commercial judgements? In order that company trainers can have a brief insight into this new type of learning experience, we present, in the following section some extracts from this training pack.

Citation

WILLMER, M. (1981), "Venture forth: A description of a training package on suitability for self‐employment", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 13 No. 12, pp. 414-415. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb003863

Publisher

:

MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1981, MCB UP Limited

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