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Thursday, April 27, 2006
Why look for a job at all?
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Alfredo “Pido” Tan, 22, wanted to become a military man four years ago. But that was when he knew very little about herbs or entrepreneurship.
Today, barely a month after graduation, Tan and his three classmates are busy growing and supplying thyme, mint, basil and oregano to posh hotels and Italian restaurants in Cebu.
While most of the close to 24,000 new graduates in Central Visayas are struggling to find jobs, Tan is starting to reap the returns of his investment and labor.
Practicum
Homegrown Herbs started when 17 business administration students had their practicum program on enterprise development during their final year at the University of San Carlos (USC).
After graduation, four of them held on to the business, seeing a big potential in the market for herbs in Cebu, where they are the only local supplier.
Two other groups, Fresh Box Corp. and Focused Group Corp., continued their fresh flower and events organizing business and study center operations, respectively, after graduation.
Tan’s group started with capital of P60,000.
“Studying business adminis-tration taught me a lot and got me interested in business. Our curriculum is effective in training the students to become entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, not all of us saw the big opportunities in business,” Tan said.
USC professors hope to see more students sustaining the businesses they started in their practicum.
But Dr. Rene Paquibut, assistant dean of the USC College of Commerce, admitted that no matter how much they prepare the students to become entrepreneurs, majority still prefer to look for a job after graduation.
Some students just don’t have the mindset, interest and acumen that will make a business prosper, he said.
Specialized
But not all hope is lost for those who don’t go into business.
As required by the Commission on Higher Education, the business program of most schools follows a two-pronged approach: to prepare them for both office work and entrepreneurship.
Schools offering business courses have opened more specialized programs.
USC, for example, now has five business administration programs. Aside from the generalist program, one can also major in entrepreneurship, marketing management and enterprise, human resource management and legal management.
And in all five programs, students are required to enroll in the six-unit practicum on enterprise development.
“The businesses they put up start small, but we always hope everybody will continue the business even after graduation and make it big and eventually hire people because it’s the only way to improve the economy,” said Grace Marie Lape, a professor at the USC Business Administration department.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 27, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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