YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING OFFERED IN PRINCE ALBERT

Young entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to build their business skills at a series of Youth Opportunities Unleashed (YOU) workshops in Prince Albert later this month.

This training component of the YOU program offers four introductory workshops: entrepreneurship; financing your business; business management; and marketing your business.

"The Government of Saskatchewan will continue to focus on creating economic opportunities for youth," Deputy Premier and Regional Economic and Co-operative Development Minister Clay Serby said. "Young people want to build meaningful careers for themselves and we need to increase awareness of their options in the province. The YOU workshops help youth to become successful entrepreneurs by offering the type of practical knowledge, including assessing the viability of business ideas and developing a business plan, to transform dreams into reality."

The Prince Albert and District Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) and Saskatchewan Rural Development have partnered to deliver the workshops.

"We look forward to partnering with the Government of Saskatchewan to deliver training that helps young people succeed in business in Saskatchewan," Prince Albert and District CFDC General Manager Wayne Cameron said. "These workshops are a response to direct requests for youth entrepreneurial training in the region."

YOU, an enhancement of Government of Saskathcewan's Small Business Loans Association (SBLA) program, helps young entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 realize their business ambitions with financing and training. Loans of up to $15,000 are available to help business start-up or expansion.

In 2005, 85 small business loans for more than $1 million were made to Saskatchewan youth. Work is also continuing toward developing a mentorship component of the YOU program. The SBLA program provided 17 loans totalling more the $181,000 to youth in rural communities surrounding Prince Albert.

The workshops run Wednesday evenings from March 29th to May 17th.

For more information on YOU training workshops in Prince Albert, young entrepreneurs can call (306) 763-8125, or 1-800-265-2001 for information on the SBLA program.

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For More Information, Contact:

Donna Rehirchuk Rural Development Regina Phone: (306) 787-2359