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Monday, February 14, 2005
Students urged: Embrace trade skills
* Private sector rep cites need to reorient education system
"THERE must be a reorientation of Philippine education at all levels, especially at the tertiary level, to foster entrepreneurship."
Marriz Manuel B. Agbon, private sector representative for Mindanao to the National Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Council to student business executives attending the 1st Mindanao Business and Management Youth Congress last February 5 in Cagayan de Oro City.
In a press statement to Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, Agbon said 500 participants from 100 schools all over Mindanao joined the landmark gathering organized by the School of Business and Management of Xavier University--Ateneo de Cagayan and its Council of Business Executives.
"Let's start inculcating entrepreneurship values in the grade school and teach entrepreneurship skills, such as financial and managerial skills, in the secondary and tertiary curricula," he told participants of the activity.
Agbon noted that among the fundamental obstacles to dynamic SME development in the Philippines is a generally weak entrepreneurial culture fostered by an educational system favoring employment rather than entrepreneurship after graduation.
As a result, the one-time director of the Mindanao Business Council pointed out, Filipino students appear to be content with setting sights on finding a job after graduation, when they could be creating jobs for others.
The small business advocate advised the young executives to get more exposure to the operations of small enterprises. Agbon suggested volunteering themselves in chambers of commerce and industry associations.
Close familiarity
He said with their academic training the student executives could help in strengthening both frontline and backroom operations of these associations in order to effectively respond to the needs of the association members.
Student executives, Agbon said, could also volunteer in the SME resource centers of the Department of Trade and Industry, which provide economic and business information and technology support to local SMEs.
Agbon pointed out that the close familiarity of the current student generation with information and communication technology would be a big plus in the overall effort to reorient, familiarize and promote the use of ICT tools among small business owners.
The Mindanao SME representative offered the following projects that the students could consider towards fostering greater entrepreneurial appreciation in the schools:
* A program for student managers that gives them the opportunity to gain hands-on experience running an existing on-campus business organization, as well as providing a source of employment to all students and valuable services to the campus and broader community;
* An educational series designed for students to learn about important topics including business plan development, marketing, and entrepreneurial finance;
* A competition open to all students that will provide funding and support to winning teams who wish to start new for-profit and non-profit ventures;
* Entrepreneurial Coaching, one-on-one short sessions with a Career Education staff member designed to discuss student's own entrepreneurial ideas.
In this meeting, students will receive feedback, be given resources and direction on appropriate next steps;
* A regular Conference on Student Enterprise Leadership that will provide a forum for student officers, managers, and administrators to share ideas about best practices, organizational-wide issues and possible joint ventures between programs and institutions, or
* A summer entrepreneurship program: two weeks on campus learning about entrepreneurship, enterprise leadership, cross-cultural teamwork, consulting, and economic and community development, and four to- six weeks in mixed teams, supported by industry experts, consulting to small- and medium-sized enterprises to help them develop strategies and plans for growth and development.
* A cultural program may be included within the program. This will include fun outdoor activities, visits to local high profile companies and historical and cultural centers, and dinners with influential guest speakers.
(February 14, 2005 issue)
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