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Childminders
learn business skills at Acorn
06/01/05
Nine
childminders have attended the Start A Business Programme
at Acorn The Business Centre, which was specially tailored
to the childminding industry and resulted in six new
businesses starting and six participants going on to gain
a certificate in Lifesavers for Babies and Children
through St John’s ambulance.
The
Start A Business Programme at Acorn The Business Centre in
Ballymoney is going from strength to strength and is
enabling the people in the Ballymoney borough to utilise
their skills and look at self-employment as a realistic
career choice.
Since
the launch of the Start A Business Programme in September
2001 over 100 businesses have started in the Ballymoney
borough equating to over 165 jobs.
Acorn
The Business Centre pride themselves in the fact that they
are able to reach out to the community, address needs and
provide solutions. The Ballymoney Borough has over 2,500
households with dependent children according to the
Northern Ireland census. Furthermore cobra market reports
state that more women are returning to work after having
children than ever before, and workforce demographics have
witnesses a rapid growth in flexible and part-time work
with female workers requiring childcare for just a few
hours each day. Therefore private sector childcare is in
great demand.
Sarah
Hudson responsible for The Start A Business Programme at
Acorn The Business Centre stated “Registered
Childminding is now one of the forms of day-care eligible
for the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit for
working parents.” “We are delighted to be able to
empower Registered Childminders and raise the levels of
business acumen within the local childminding community,
providing business advice, business training and first aid
training. Registered childminding is a business like any
other and childminders are responsible for their own
bookkeeping and tax returns. The Start A Business
Programme can help to address the business skills required
in self-employment, giving all new business managers the
training and confidence to run their own business
successfully.”
Four
of the ladies who completed all business and first aid
training stated that they still have places available in
their business and their details are as follows:
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Barbara
Kane –full-time vacancies (02870355480)
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Joanne
Nicholl - Part-time
vacancies (02820742289)
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Geraldine
Dixon - full-time and part-time vacancies
(07795471709)
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Karen
Brown – Full-time and part-time vacancies available
(02827669288)
All
ladies are Registered Childminders and members of NICMA
The
Northern Ireland Childminding Association (NICMA) website
states that Registered Childminding continues to offer a
wide range of benefit’s to children, families the
community and the economy. It invests in children’s
learning, meets individual needs of children and families
and increases opportunities for women to return or stay in
the workplace. Childminding places in Northern Ireland
currently account for 76% of full day care provision with
4,384 Registered Childminders providing over 22,161
childcare places for both pre-school and after-school
children.
The Start A Business Programme at Acorn offers a business
advisory service, a training course covering sales and
marketing, financial management, legal and statutory
issues and general business practices, a business and
financial planning service is also on offer and whatsmore,
the programme is free to participants thinking about
starting their own business in whatever sector and a small
grant allowance is also available.
The
Start A Business Programme is funded and supported by
Invest Northern Ireland, Ballymoney Borough Council and
the EU Building Sustainable Prosperity Programme.
If
you are thinking about starting a business ‘Go For It’
and contact Acorn The Business Centre for further advice
and guidance on 028 2766 6133 or email sarahhudson@acornbusiness.co.uk
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