Free six-month start your own business programme launched

A free, full-time, six-month intensive training programme to assist people on Jobseekers payments to become self-employed has been launched.

Beginning in October and conducted by QEDTraining, ignite will teach participants everything they need to know about setting up a business – from coming up with the idea, to market research, to building a website and making sales.

This year’s programme follows the successful completion of an inaugural launch last year, which saw 56 budding entrepreneurs set up new businesses.

Pparticipants will be backed by their own individual personal business coach, and will have access to a team of experts to help them build their business idea into a functioning enterprise.

Ignite also includes a ‘Trial Trading’ initiative, which allows participants to test their business in a real business environment. This will shadow established business owners, do work placements, conduct real market research and do real selling.

The initiative, which has over 250 places available, is open to people who have been on Jobseekers payments for over 311 days. It is fully funded under the Government’s Momentum Initiative, so participant’s welfare payments will remain at the same level. In addition, Revenue will waive taxes on the first € 40,000 of sales in the first two years of operation. There is also significant provision for childcare.

Ignite is a full-time, 23 week programme consisting of 13 weeks of talks, workshops and classes where participants work in teams and learn about business and developing their idea. The 13 weeks are spread out and interspersed between them are 10 weeks of practical activities and work experience where they get to actively work on their business – testing their idea and seeing if it’s going to succeed. Participants will be heavily guided and supported through this phase.

The training will take place in the ignite Academy in Dublin’s city centre and will also include online and in-work placements. Training days will run from 9.00am to 5.00pm, with occasional sessions taking place in the evenings.