Vitebsk school students to learn basics of doing business

The business community of Vitebsk Oblast with the financial support of the Eurasia Foundation has launched a program to teach school students the basics of running a business, BelTA learned from Ida Sitnikova, the head of the Vitebsk regional institute for education development.

The international project "School business companies: the potential for business education of school students" was started on 18 September. It is run by the Vitebsk Business Center with the financial assistance of the Eurasia Foundation that receives majority funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). "In fact, this education program represents the second stage of the regional project to introduce the model of a school business company. The project has been running for two years already. It currently involves senior students of a number of gymnasiums and schools of Vitebsk Oblast," Ida Sitnikova explained.

Anna Brovko, the headmistress of the school for orphaned children in Senno, recognizes the importance of the project. "An experimental platform was created at our school as part of the project in 2013. Today our children learn sewing, farming, and timbering skills. We have plans to open new workshops. However, we need the help of legal and business experts. The business community can give us a hand with this," Anna Brovko noted.

The project also provides for distance training of business teachers at the Vitebsk Business Center.

The project will run till March 2016. It will conclude with a large-scale forum and an exhibition of business projects by young entrepreneurs. "Business education should begin at school. The project will encourage children to show their business initiative and probably start their own businesses in the future," Ida Sitnikova pointed out.

BELARUSIAN NEWS