Is self-employment for me?

What is the course about?

With self-employment in the UK reaching an all time high of 15% of the workforce, and new opportunities opening up all the time, many more people are aspiring to work for themselves.
This course will look at the many different ways you can be your own boss in today's world of work, and will help you consider which ways could work best for you.
You will work out what’s important to you in your work life and assess your skills, to help you reflect upon how suited you are to self-employment and what you may need to put in place to make it work well for you.
You will have the opportunity to visualise and clarify what work success means to you and you will be introduced to the low risk strategy for starting self-employment through the concept of portfolio or patchwork careers.

What will we cover?

• What's motivating you to work for yourself?
• Have you got what it takes? - looking at your relevant skills, qualities and knowledge.
• The 5 key elements which will help you thrive in self-employment.
• The many ways of working for yourself in today's world of work.
• The portfolio or patchwork career.
• Your vision of success for self-employment and work.
• Next steps to move your ideas forward.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

• Recognise what's motivating you to work for yourself and have more awareness of your values.
• Be clearer about how your skills, qualities and knowledge can support your success in self-employment and identify areas you may need to work on or seek help with.
• Identify the 5 key elements which allow entrepreneurs to thrive.
• Gain knowledge of the many ways in which it's possible to work for yourself in today's world of work including the lower risk patchwork or portfolio career model.
• Have a clearer vision of success for your self-employment and work.
• Identify next steps to move forward with your work ideas.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

No prior training, experience or skills are necessary, just the ability to follow simple written and verbal instructions, and a willingness to participate in the activities which range from pair work and group work to individual exercises.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

The course will be a mix of tutor input, individual paper and pen exercises and interactive pair and group work, all inside the class.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

No there are no additional costs. You will be given exercises and handouts on the course. You may want to bring a pen and a notebook to record any learning you'd like to capture.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

Please click here to view our business skills courses.