Date: July 2, 2018
To boost an entrepreneurship spirit among students, youth and job seekers, Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) has launched a reach out campaign in schools and colleges across the Sultanate. An ongoing initiative by Zubair SEC, the reach out programme will be held throughout the year. The reach out campaign encompasses training workshops, orientation programmes, talks and interactive sessions and aims at encouraging and equipping the youth in the area of entrepreneurship and starting one’s own business.
Through the purview of the reach out campaign, Zubair SEC has held special sessions in several educational institutions including Al Musanna College of Technology, Surour School, College of Banking and Financial Studies Muscat, Higher Technology College Al Khuwair. In addition, Zubair SEC has also held workshops in professional advisory centres in Buraimi, Nizwa, some parts of Al Dakhiliyah and Al Sharqiyah North governorates. Zubair SEC has also conducted entrepreneurship related workshops for students in applied science colleges and other private colleges across Oman. The campaign has received a keen interest from students and even trainers, many of whom have expressed interest to join Zubair SEC.
Adel Al Hubeishi, Senior Advisor, Zubair SEC said, “The objective of the reach out campaign is to give participants a framework to evaluate the possibility of starting an entrepreneurial venture and to construct an initial plan to proceed. We are pleased with how well our reach-out campaign has echoed and we have been receiving invites from various educational institutions to conduct further workshops on entrepreneurship.”
He added, “The workshops offer participants a chance to gain information and knowledge about how to start a business. The interactive workshops concentrate on generating ideas and taking first steps to starting a business. We also focus on the importance of innovation, having a clear marketing strategy, and the significance of funding among other topics.”
Through the sessions, Zubair SEC’s advisors introduce the centre’s mission and services and explain how the team can be of assistance and guidance to its members who endeavour to start new businesses or better develop existing ones.
Al Hubaishi said, “We have been extremely impressed with the enthusiasm and interest shown by the attendees of those sessions. Many of them have had very interesting ideas which they can pursue after some further development. Zubair SEC always seeks to provide its members with opportunities to explore various aspects of launching and growing a successful business. Our team had interesting discussions with the deans and principals of the visited colleges and schools on the possibility and significance of offering specialized extended sessions on entrepreneurship.”
Designed to inspire young people to become entrepreneurs, Zubair SEC’s recently organised a workshop for students on entrepreneurship at the Al Musanna College of Technology. The focus of the workshop was on how to convert business ideas into a reality and how to translate a hobby into a business model. Students were exposed to the many facets of entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership that helps build a career in entrepreneurship. Over 35 students from different subject streams and some staff of the college participated in the workshop. The intention of the workshop was to encourage entrepreneurship among students who have thought about starting their own business or have bright business ideas.
Similarly, the presentation in College of Banking and Financial Studies focused on business sustainability. Nauzer Nowroji, Senior Advisor at Zubair SEC said, “The talk centred on the life cycle of an SME from the planning stage to establishing and growing a business. We highlighted specifics for each stage and the key elements that a new entrepreneur needs to look at the while planning a start-up. We also walked carefully through transition points and educated attendees on how they would know one stage is complete and the time to plan for the next stage. Over 120 participants including students and teachers from various departments attended. We have received expression of interest from three colleges to organise similar presentations. We already have a good number of participants coming to Zubair SEC for guidance. Through the reach out campaign we are attracting new members too.”
As part of the reach out efforts, Zubair SEC also conducted a three-day workshop for the staff of National Career Guidance Centre in Buraimi. Around 40 staff members participated in the workshop. National Career Guidance Centre, part of the Ministry of Education, provides career guidance services for students and job seekers. The centres have qualified and trained staff who guide high school students to determine their future careers and colleges they want to enrol in for their higher studies. The aim of the workshop conducted by Zubair SEC was to train the centre’s staff to encourage their students to consider choosing entrepreneurship. This workshop aimed to enhance professional capacity of the centre’s staff to guide students who aspire to pursue or consider self-employment. The workshop provided vital information and support to trainers of the centre by providing information relevant to entrepreneurship development.