Bay Harbour: January 27, 2021

PAGE 12 BAY HARBOUR
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Wednesday January 27 2021
CONTENT MARKETING
Start-up support for Covid-19
impacted jobseekers
• By Simon Anderson
IT’S THAT TIME of year when
everyone is thinking about what
they want to achieve in 2021.
I think we’d all rather forget
2020 but for some it’s not so easy.
Many people have lost jobs, had
to reduce hours or change their
employment situation and are still
feeling the blow that Covid-19
has dealt our economy and
community.
As an indicator, in November
2019 there were 13,656 jobseeker
support recipients in Canterbury
compared to 21,057 in November
2020, an increase of 7400
recipients.
If you’re one of these people
or were unemployed prior to the
pandemic – and are thinking of
starting your own business, we
can help.
ChristchurchNZ is helping identify opportunities for people to reskill and move into other sectors
Higher unemployment impacts
more significantly on those in
lower skilled roles and our
vulnerable populations – Māori;
Pasifika; young people not in
employment, education or
training; and our long-term
How do you start your
own
unemployed.
business?
Start Me Up is a business
skills kick-starter programme
aimed at people whose work has
been impacted by the pandemic
and are currently, or soon to
be, registered as unemployed.
It is also open to those who
were – school unemployed leavers, prior tertiary to the
pandemic.
It has been specifically designed
to guide people who are thinking
about starting a business but don’t
know where to begin.
Māori From catering and industry. to digital
marketing to selling handcrafted
goods, business ideas of all
kinds are welcomed – but the
programme is not limited to
those that have an idea.
If you’ve ever thought of
starting your own business, we
would definitely encourage you to
sign up to the programme. Even
if you haven’t got an idea, we
can help you work through the
process of coming up with one.
There are two parts to the
programme – the first is an online
short course exploring what it’s
like to start a business and be
self-employed. The online classes
will cover topics such as who
your customers could be, what
problem your business will solve,
how to structure the business,
how to get sales and measure
your progress.
Having completed the online
programme, 25 participants who
want to get serious about building
their business will be selected for
an in-person Accelerator.
The Accelerator will follow the
same framework introduced in
part 1, but will drill deeper in on
each component to help create a
more in-depth business plan that
can be used to get started, to get
funding or simply as a guide for
you in your next steps.
And what are we doing?
We are supporting the journey
for labour market priority groups
graduates, NEET (young people
not in employment, education or
training), impacted workers,
To ensure work isn’t duplicated,
and to identify gaps, we are
mapping the support available
from iwi, central and local
government agencies, our
education providers, charitable
trusts, and other support groups.
Impact projects can then be
delivered to provide support
where needed.
It is critical we ensure our
community has access to the
information they need, and is
aware of the help available.
ChristchurchNZ is developing
regional information resources
and working to ensure this gets
into the hands of those who
Online classes with local experts will cover the
fundamentals of starting a business.
need it.
Access to the best
support in town
Both the online and in-person
components will give participants
access to support across the city’s
network to help make their idea a
success.
This will include a team of
successful entrepreneurs, mentors
and start-up experts – people
that have all been there and done
it before and can share their
experiences, both the highs and
the lows with you.
If you are selected to take
part in the Accelerator, your
business plan will be reviewed
by a Westpac loan specialist to
see if it is eligible for a business
loan. If it isn’t, you may be eligible
for support to get your business
started from the Ministry of
Social Development. However,
there’s no guarantees you’ll
receive funding as a result of
taking part in the programme.
Don’t just take it from me
Lisa Schmidt has already
submitted her application for
Start Me Up and is excited about
the opportunities the programme
will provide.
Lisa is an artist and has a
passion for creating sustainable
artwork made from natural
elements or repurposed goods
(pictured). When a recent
business venture selling her art
didn’t work out financially, Lisa
realised that working on her
business skills including how to
sell and get exposure for her work
was essential. Lisa is strongly
connected to Banks Peninsula
and wishes to continue creating
her art there and starting an art
collective with other talented
local female artists.
Why are we doing it?
Start Me Up is a collaboration
between ChristchurchNZ and the
Ministry of Social Development
and is a key action in the
Ōtautahi Christchurch Recovery
Plan which sets out the actions
to make sure our city’s economic
and social recovery from the
Covid-19 pandemic is deliberate,
strong and equitable.
Give it a go
Find out more about the
programme and register online at
www.startmeup.co.nz
We are also developing a
Regional Workforce Plan that
identifies the skills available and
needed now and in the future.
This plan will inform central
government investment and
policy in education, immigration
and community interventions;
and will enable us to better
understand what skills
Christchurch’s future economy
will require. That in turn will
allow us to work with education
providers to ensure the right
courses are offered.
In times of recession we generally
see an increase in people
choosing to study.
This is an opportunity to upskill
Canterbury’s relatively
poorly-educated workforce for
our future economy, to generate
more and better jobs, to increase
productivity, and to raise living
standards and wellbeing.
We are supporting Ngāi Tahu’s
development of an iwi skills hub
that will create stronger pathways
for young Māori into tertiary
education and skilled jobs.
Among other projects, we are
working with education partners
and mana whenua to increase
aspiration and participation of
students in low-decile schools in
Simon Anderson is the
future-focused regional tertiary growth study manager that
will lead at to ChristchurchNZ
careers in
Thinking of starting a business? Find
out more at startmeup.co.nz
high-growth areas. We are
seeking to future-proof
Canterbury’s labour marke
- we know how vital it is to
new jobs to ensure people
employment options now
in the longer term.
We have invested in a cityinnovation
and entrepreur
ecosystem partnership to s
high-growth potential bus
and future job creation in a
of regional strength and glo
growth opportunity. These
Supernodes are Aerospace
PHOTO: BROOKE CAGLE
Future Transport; Food, Fi
and Agritech; Health Tech
Resilient Communities; an
High-Tech Services.
Our business attraction tea
working to attract addition
businesses and jobs to the r
While we expect ongoing
economic disruption, there
are many green shoots and
opportunities – one of whi
to develop a workforce tha
highly skilled and can supp
thriving and globally comp
future economy.
Karen Haigh is a Talent
Specialist for Innovation
and Business Growth at
ChristchurchNZ
Start Me Up participant Lisa Schimidt’s recent artwork.