Powiatowy Urząd Pracy w Gdańsku

One of the most essential problems of the Polish labour market is a low employment index of people over 50, e.g. in Gdansk, people over 50 are over 30 % of all the unemployed. In Poland, the employment index of people between 50 and 64 is only 33% and one of the lowest in Europe. Whereas in spite of the existing stereotypes, people over 50 dispose of big intellectual potential and rich professional and life experience. Authors of the “Mature Businessman” project decided to use exactly these advantages in the activation of a group of people over 50 by promoting entrepreneurship.

The project assumed selecting 26 people with the most interesting propositions for own business. People who presented the most interesting propositions of business plans received a financial support in the amount of 40 thousand PLN and 7,5 thousand PLN of bridging support for the period of 6 months. This subsidy was to help them to fulfill a dream of their own company.

120 people applied to take part in the project. There were characterized by two common things: every one of them wanted to start his own business and has over 50 years of age.

These people had to present their own ideas for business activity. From among 120 ideas, the committee has chosen 60 people which have been invited to the next training and advisory part of the project.

Project consisted of a few key stages. Each of them was to verify participants to select ones with the most interesting and realizable ideas for own company.

In the beginning, participants took part in 150 hours of course comprehensively preparing them to their new role in their business life. Lecturers from the Gdansk Entrepreneurship Foundation instructed them how to keep the books and how to manage the issues applying to employing workers and basics of marketing activity. During individual consultations, qualified advisers helped project participants to make a professional business plan.

The next stage was collecting and issuing documents in the Poviat Labour Office in Gdansk and thereby formally apply for a subsidy. Properly prepared documents were a necessary condition for considering business plans by the committee.

Committee consisted of representatives of employers’ organizations in Pomorze who selected 26 people best prepared for starting their own business activity.

They were offered a non-recurring subsidy in the amount up to 40 thousand PLN and 7,5 thousand PLN of bridging support for current expenditures in the first 6 months of functioning. Moreover, they could take further advantage of services from the same advisor who had supported them during making the business plan. 11 people received extended bridging support for the next 6 months.

High level of projects and business plans which were not selected for subsidy forced the Labour Office to propose an additional lower subsidy for seven unemployed.

The mature entrepreneur project directed to people over 50 has been appreciated by the Ministry of Regional Development and the organizer of “Good Practices” competition, the European Social Fund 2010. Jury decided that the project had fulfilled the expectations and had been organized on a very high level. It took the second place from among three hundred of competing projects and was given the honorary title of “The Best Human Investment”

Every stage of the project was filmed. As a result of this, now we have a coverage series purposed for inspiring other people to take on the challenge of starting the own business after 50. Twelve parts of these coverage were shown by the Gdansk department of Telewizja Polska S.A. First six in Autumn 2009 and the other in the next Spring. Also a short half-hour movie was made summing up the whole project. The main part of all materials are the authentic and interesting experiences of “mature entrepreneurs”. There are also very valuable tips from various experts. The viewers can find out what should be taken info consideration during starting the business according to the specialists from such fields as psychology, image development or marketing.

The mature entrepreneur project has turned out to be a huge success of the Poviat Labour Office in Gdansk and all its participants. The additional important element was a fact that the project had been implemented in times when the effects of international crisis had strongly influenced the Polish labour market. Therefore the success is even more significant because participators managed to fulfill their vocational plans in such adverse time for entrepreneurs as the financial crisis.

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