August 4, 2021
BY MOHAMED M. SESAY
In an orientation session for the six months entrepreneurship short course under the World Bank Skills Development Funds, the Chief Executive Officer of Life By Design (LBD) Joe Abass Bangura has yesterday the 3rd of August, informed pressmen that they are training forty (40) young men and women within the age bracket of 18-35 years in order to become entrepreneurs and be able to creates jobs for themselves. The Six months training will start from August 2021- February 2022.
Whilst explaining the nitty-gritty of the six months short course, Joe Abass Bangura noted that there has been a mismatch in the Job Markets wherein young people have been to University and acquired University education but the certificates they have does not align with the 21st century job markets. He refuted claims made by people that jobs are not available adding that, it is the job seekers that do not have the required qualifications for certain jobs.
“The Skills Development Funds is set up to be able to essentially fund the labor market with relevant skills targeting young people between the ages 18- 35 years. Our value proposition for this particular entrepreneurship short course is centered on skills over theories. This approach will help you the trainees own skills over theories”, he assured trainees.
Joe Abass also observed that for the selection process, Life-By-Design received sixty-three applications from forty-six males and seventeen females.
He said that they were able to offer forty admission for twenty-eight males and twelve females for the six month entrepreneurship training.
He disclosed that the August training session will be on Social Innovation Lab which will entail problem solving, fishbone technique, brainstorming, and stakeholder’s analysis engagement and consultation and ideation from problem to opportunity.
Joe Abass also intimated that the September session will be on Entrepreneurial Design Lab. This is going to cover the following issues: canvassing of the trainees, Businesses, Development, Social Business Model, Canvas, Business Plan, Financial Literacy, sustainability in entrepreneurship, sustainability strategy, and legal side of entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property Rights and Corporate Laws and Business Ecosystem of Sierra Leone.
Also in the Month of October, Joe Abass said the training will be centered on Leadership and Business Management which will entail Leadership and Team, Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Management, Components of Emotional Intelligence, Managing Conflicts, Sales and Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Customers experience and Management.
He continued that the November session will be on sales and marketing for Entrepreneurs, Customer experience Management, Prototyping one, Prototyping two and Incorporating Feedbacks and the trainees refining their businesses. He concluded that the December session will cover Career Development for Entrepreneurs, Writing Cover Letters, CVs, email etiquette and interview techniques, Career Development Research, Branding and Professional Profiling and Vision Mapping and Goal setting.
In his submission, the Grant Specialist for the Skills Development Funds attached to the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education Sallieu Barrie chiefly congratulated the successful applicants who made it to the six months training session. He added that, the selection process for the Skills Development Programmes by Life-By-Design was a very competitive process, as sixty-three young people applied but only forty were fortunate to be selected.
He added that the World Bank Skills Development Funds targets 20% females but so far they have accommodated up to 48% of females. Barrie therefore encouraged the females to serve as ambassadors to their colleague females so that they will come onboard in the next session of the Skills Development Programme. He further indicated that the thrust of the Skills Development Project is to increase access to demand led skills training in the country.
Sallieu Barrie continued that at the end of February 2022 when the training would have been completed, they are expecting the trainees to have acquired the requisite knowledge and skills so that they go back to their respective communities to identify the problems in their communities and address them. He concluded by encouraging the successful trainees to take the six months entrepreneurship short course very seriously and therefore, wished them the very best in the endeavors.