The Southwestern College Center for International Trade Development offers free training to students interested in starting their own business though its Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP).
YEP is funded by the California Community College Economic and Workforce Development Program. The purpose of YEP is to help young people ages 14 - 27 replace misconceptions of vocational education and blue collar jobs with increased awareness of and aspirations to self-employment as a legitimate career path.
YEP consists of three main components:
Business Training: As a way to help participants learn about self-employment, we have developed a business training curriculum that covers topics including business start-up, marketing, management, finance, and writing a business plan. This curriculum is delivered through a self-paced online learning system that students can access at any time.
Business Plan Competition: Students that complete the business training and write a business plan have the opportunity to enter it into the YEP Business Plan Competition. Business plans that are submitted for the competition are reviewed by a panel of business professionals and the top three plan authors are awarded a prize package consisting of services and resources designed to help them launch their business.
One-on-one Business Counseling & Mentoring: YEP participants also have access to one-on-one counseling & mentoring sessions with a professional business advisor to help them fine-tune their business plan and get answers to specific business questions and concerns.
Students also benefit from YEP by acquiring knowledge and skills through our training program that are transferable to the job market.
Would you help us spread the word about this program? You can download a flyer for YEP by clicking here. More information about the program, success stories, and student registration can be found on our web site at http://www.yepsd.com.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (619) 482-6393 or greyes@swccd.edu
Thank you!
Gabriel Reyes
Youth Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator
Southwestern College Center for International Trade Development