Ajax resident among participants in the government course
Aug 13, 2008 - 01:39 PM
By Crystal Crimi
AJAX -- Joe Dickson wishes the Summer Company had been around when he was a teenager and starting up his own business.
The Ajax-Pickering MPP had to learn from the ground up when he was starting out, but through Ontario's Summer Company program, students receive the training and knowledge to operate business beforehand.
"Once you've had the opportunity to know the nuts and bolts, it makes it a lot easier on that rocky road," Mr. Dickson said.
The course was several weeks long and featured more than 350 candidates this year, including one from Ajax. It's for students age 15 to 29 and provides practical hands-on training, mentoring, business operating skills, and presentations from professionals, accountants, and corporate leaders.
"It really gives Ontario students the opportunity to develop business skills," Mr. Dickson said. "Generally speaking, those skills will last the fullness of their life."
Mr. Dickson would have liked more accounting experience before starting Dickson Printing as a teenager, which "has been the lifeblood of our existence and raising our family," Mr. Dickson said. He's had other businesses as well, which he's sold over the years.
Through the Summer Company program, students had to create mock businesses, for which they were judged. At the end of the course, candidates were presented with certificates and cash awards.
Program participants can qualify for provincial grants worth up to $3,000 as well to help them start a business.
"Hopefully, it will help create more small businesses that may evolve into larger businesses," Mr. Dickson said, adding more jobs would be created and taxes collected for services.
Even if the students' involvement in the Summer Company program doesn't create big businesses but helps develop a magnitude of small businesses with 10 employees or less, that's good, he said.
"Small and medium-sized businesses are the engine of our economy," said Harinder Takhar, Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship in a press release. "The Summer Company program gives our students an early opportunity to learn first-hand how entrepreneurs become successful and remain competitive."
To get a seat in the course, students have to submit an application and usually the number received is extensive, Mr. Dickson said. Applications are generally available in January and those interested in participating in next year's program can watch for them on the Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship website.
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