UNESCO training package on entrepreneurship: Starting my own small business

Starting my own small business
A training module on entrepreneurship for learners in non-formal settings

UNESCO’s Starting My Own Small Business was published to respond to a lack of technical and vocational education materials. The curriculum was designed during a two-day workshop with input from technical and vocational education policymakers from 11 East African countries. Starting My Own Small Business provides supplementary knowledge to young people receiving technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in formal or nonformal settings so that they can acquire an entrepreneurial mindset and the knowledge to set up a small business. The objective is to motivate youth and adults who have not received a formal education and to equip learners with the rudimentary skills and knowledge to engage in some form of self-employment.

The materials used in the curriculum are a 40-page facilitator's guide and accompanying participant's workbook of approximately the same length. Each of these materials is divided into 15 units. For each unit, the student workbook contains short essay-style questions and space for learners to write their answers.

Starting My Own Small Business Units:

• Unit 1: Learning together
• Unit 2: My entrepreneurial skills
• Unit 3: My ideas for a small business
• Unit 4: My market
• Unit 5: Setting my prices
• Unit 6: Finding the money to start my business
• Unit 7: Banking
• Unit 8: Keeping track of my money
• Unit 9: Communicating with my customers and business partners
• Unit 10: Making the best use of my time
• Unit 11: Observing rules and regulations
• Unit 12: Managing my workplace
• Unit 13: My business place
• Unit 14: Contacting my clients and partners with ICT
• Unit 15: The Internet and e-business

The units provide the information and structure necessary for conducting training in entrepreneurship. The facilitator’s guide also includes a table with the learning objectives for each unit. The participant's workbook contains a checklist (yes or no questions) for students to use in determining what they have learned during the training.

Facilitator’s guide: UNESCO Publication, Paris, March 2006, 47 p. (214KB)

Participant’s workbook: UNESCO Publication, Paris, March 2006, 40 p. (516 KB)






Starting my own small business
A training module on entrepreneurship for students of technical and vocational education and training at secondary level
Empowering young people to become self-employed and engage in a productive livelihood has the dual benefit of escaping the poverty trap and enabling them to become active contributors in the economic and social activity of their community. With the aim of providing young people and adults with access to quality life-skills programmes, this toolkit has been developed as a guide to educational professionals.

This training module is intended to provide supplementary knowledge to young people receiving technical and vocational education and training, in formal or non-formal settings, so that they may acquire an entrepreneurial mindset and the knowledge to set up a small business.

The module covers the following topics, such as a window on the world of self-employment - what is a business and who is an entrepreneur; Developing entrepreneurial skills - business management, communications, time management and business ethics; Getting started - matching skills with business, assessing demand and the current market, estimating costs and workplace management; Mobilising resources - financial, material and human resources; Stepping into the business world - designing a business plan and information and communication technology (ICT) - the internet and e-business.

The Units include the following structure:

• Unit 1: What is a business?
• Unit 2: Who is an entrepreneur?
• Unit 3: Managing my business?
• Unit 4: Communicating
• Unit 5: Making the best of my time
• Unit 6: Practicing business ethics
• Unit 7: Matching my skills with business
• Unit 8: Assessing demand
• Unit 9: Sizing up the market
• Unit 10: Estimating cost and setting a price
• Unit 11: Observing rules and regulations
• Unit 12: Managing my workplace
• Unit 13: Financial resources - How I find and manage
• Unit 14: Human resources - Hiring people to work with me
• Unit 15: Material resources - The things I need
• Unit 16: Compiling my business plan
• Unit 17: Contacting my clients and partners with ICT
• Unit 18: The internet and e-business

Facilitator's guide: UNESCO Publication, Paris, March 2006, 53 p. (248 KB)

Participant’s workbook: UNESCO Publication, Paris, March 2006 73 p. (598 KB)

For available hard copies, please contact unevoc(at)unesco.org