Getting Down to Business! Training in Small Business Skills in Papua New Guinea Case Study Click on the following links for further information about this case study: Teacher's Notes   Student Activities Background Creating enough jobs for people to earn an adequate living is an on-going struggle for many countries in the world today. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is no exception. According to the PNG Employers' Federation, less than 10% of the population aged between 16 and 64 are in formal wage employment. Providing jobs for its people and increasing the level of income of those with jobs to adequate levels is a difficult task for Australia's closest neighbour. As Papua New Guinea has attempted to develop its economy, unemployment has become an issue of growing concern. This is a burden for both the individual and the country as a whole. High levels of unemployment fail to make use of valuable human resources and without a regular income, unemployed workers and their families are forced to live in poverty. This poverty is illustrated in the low average annual income of the population. The World Bank maintains that a small elite of the population captures the majority of the country's wealth. They estimate that 80% of Papua New Guinea's population have a per capita income of approximately US$350.00 - only about 40% of the national average. This means that not enough of the country's population are benefiting directly from the nation's development. Unemployment Papua New Guinea knows that it cannot solve the problem of widespread poverty in its country without solving the problem of unemployment. According to the most recent estimates available, each year 50,000 new workers enter Papua New Guinea's work force but there are only 10,000 new formal jobs available. One of the added difficulties that Papua New Guinea faces is that approximately 72% of its workforce works in the 'traditional' rural economy involved in growing vegetables, tree crops and pig raising. Unfortunately, as the need for export crops has decreased in recent years, the opportunities for rural employment have also decreased. Creative solutions Globally, one of the strategies to stimulate job creation and boost family income is to develop the small business enterprise sector within an economy. The development of small business can be a successful means of directly assisting disadvantaged groups to become economically active and access previously unattainable income. Papua New Guinea is trying to implement such a job creation strategy. With Australian financial assistance through the Australian Government's overseas aid program, the Start Your Business (SYB)/Improve Your Business (IYB) Project, is one particular strategy which aims to increase the skills and knowledge of the rural poor so they are equipped to initiate and develop a small business operation. The SYB/IYB training package has been developed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and successfully adapted for use in more than 70 countries around the world. Interested villagers and townspeople are encouraged to identify small business opportunities and have the opportunity through this project to develop the necessary commercial skills such as planning, financial management and marketing to run a small enterprise. Start your business (SYB)/improve your business (IYB) project components There are three main components to the project: Adaptation of training materials developed by the International Labour Organisation to specific local and cultural conditions within Papua New Guinea; Training local trainers to conduct the 10-day skills-based workshops; Facilitating the delivery of the actual workshops training entrepreneurs in four regions across the country: the Highlands, Momase, New Guinea Islands and the southern/National Capital District. The training workshops Eligibility The training workshops are open to anyone who would like to run a business or is already running one and wants to make it more successful. Participants must be able to read and write in simple English and be able to do simple calculations. The Program The training invites participants to look closely at their strengths and weaknesses, their individual, family and financial situation and encourages them to examine possible opportunities to initiate a small enterprise. The workshops involve a 10-Step Program: Step 1: Self Assessment as a Business Operator Step 2: Developing a Business Idea Step 3: Assessing Competitors, Customers, Sales & Promotion Step 4: Structuring & Staffing the Business Step 5: Legal Aspects Step 6: Responsibilities in Business Step 7: Financial Planning: Prices, Sales & Cash Flow Step 8: Capital & Business Loans Step 9: Creating a Business Plan Step 10: Day-to-Day Business Activities Implementation Over a two year period, from September 1996 - September 1998, sixty-eight SYB training courses and 26 IYB training courses have been conducted by the implementing agency in Papua New Guinea, the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) and other accredited organisations.   Top © Commonwealth of Australia