Self Employment Comes to Dunfermline

Due to high demand, Carnegie College’s highly successful Methil-based Self Employment programmes are now also available from its main campus in Halbeath, Dunfermline, recruiting unemployed applicants from Dunfermline and Cowdenbeath Jobcentres. Started and run from Carnegie College’s Access Centre in Thomson House in Methil, the programmes were developed to provide unemployed people with the knowledge to enable them to start and run their own businesses. As Rose Duncan, Assistant Head of School for Access & Communities explained, “We had been aware for some time that there was a demand in west Fife for this type of programme, and as redundancies and job losses continue to increase, we are very pleased that we are now able to offer these programmes at our main college campus.” Business Advisor John Soep, who developed the Training for Work Self Employment programme over 10 years ago, added, “In 2008, the college was contracted by Jobcentre Plus to provide 20 places on the Self Employment programmes, which was later increased to 35. This year, due to demand, our contract has increased to 60 places. We already have four participants started at Halbeath, with another five waiting to start in the next few days. The course is designed around the client, and offers great flexibility depending on their needs. ” Three people who have already started on the programme are Sev Davison, Paul Bishop and David Hanlon, all from Dunfermline. All agree that they feel very optimistic about what participating in this programme will deliver. Paul Bishop had been a mechanic for over 18 years, working as a manager for a national garage chain, but didn’t seem to be going anywhere with his career. He said “When I heard about this programme through the Jobcentre, it seemed as if a door had opened, letting in more possibilities than I had imagined. I intend one day to own my own premises, carrying out MOTs, and while I have the practical skills, I know there’s a lot I need to learn about becoming self employed, which is what I intend to learn from this programme.” Sev Davison said “I had been thinking about starting my own business for years, geared towards healthy eating. I had a couple of ideas around a vegetarian outlet or deli-bistro and needed more focus but didn’t know where to go to take it further. When my friend told me about Training for Work Self Employment, I made enquiries at the Jobcentre and it sounded just what I needed to get the ball rolling. This programme is giving me the confidence to take my ideas forward and turn them into something concrete.” After being made redundant from his job as an engineer, David Hanlon had no intention of becoming another statistic as one of the long term unemployed. He explained “Working for myself seemed to be the best option, giving me control over my own life. My work as an engineer covered Health and Safety issues, and I had already attended a self-funded course to gain a qualification in Health and Safety, so it seemed natural to take it forward and become self-employed as a Health and Safety Consultant. This programme will teach me the mechanics of operating a business in greater detail.” David added “it’s a number of years since I last studied at college. There are many changes, for one thing there seems to be computers everywhere, but like the others, I’m feeling really optimistic and positive about this programme.” The team at Halbeath hope to replicate the success of the Self Employment programmes in Levenmouth, where over the past 10 years, the self employment team has helped an average of 50 unemployed people a year start their own business. This has led to the creation of over 1,000 jobs, some businesses now with turnovers of over 1 million pound. In April, the team was highly commended at the Business to College Awards, sponsored by Scotland’s Colleges and the Federation of Small Businesses, unique in that they are nominated from businesses to colleges. Such is the demand for these programmes that the college will shortly be recruiting in Dundee through the Jobcentre there. Anyone interested in Self Employment programmes at Carnegie should contact their local Jobcentre to check eligibility.