VIRTUAL ENTERPRISES: WHAT HAPPENS

Participants can be students in school or post-secondary establishments, employees in a business, persons seeking to return to the workforce, or even wishing to establish their own small business.

Participants work in a team to:

• establish and conduct their own business with a virtual product or service that they select, cost, purchase at wholesale prices and on-sell to other VEs;
• set up their bank accounts, request a VEA number (like an ABN), allocate jobs to their team, and report regularly to the manager (an allocated student);
• undertake all business activities: marketing, accounting, IT, retailing, business planning, HR services, and participate in trade fairs;
• develop employability skills: communication, teamwork, problem solving, decision making, negotiation, customer service, self/time management and financial literacy;
• complete part or all of a qualification or training program by undertaking activities that are linked to a specified curriculum; and
• Learn about business with the help of an experienced business mentor!

Participants are allocated a position in a department (such as Human Resources, Sales and Marketing, Finance and Purchasing, or Administration). They may be required to write a job application, prepare for and attend an interview, and be inducted into the department. Rotating through positions in each department enables them to learn the particular skills associated with the department, and gradually become multi-skilled!