Chapter 14 - Social Enterprise

section:

Lessons Learned

Phoenix Print Shop – The Initial Training/Business Model

The initial 23 week training model for the Print Shop took youth through three stages:

Life skills training and counselling: This three-week course covered topics such as personal financial management and effective teamwork. It served as a time for the participants to start identifying their personal challenges, and to develop strategies to address those challenges.
On-the-job training: Trainees received 20 weeks of experience to develop the basic skills required in the commercial printing field including: graphic design, film and plate making, offset press operations and finishing. Trainers were all experienced print professionals. Trainees were learning the skills at the same time as they were filling contracts for commercial print jobs.
Job connection and career development: Trainees worked with the Job Developer to connect with a career-oriented position in the graphic design/printing industry. This could mean a position in a workplace, further education, or some combination of the two.

Success rates for this program were quite high. Out of a total of 47 participants (over three years), 35 graduated, 30 connected to a career-oriented position (and out of these, 21 positions were in the graphics field, either in an educational program or working).

The business goal was to cover the costs of the business part of the program (as opposed to the training) and to eventually generate a profit, and the business has been inching closer to that goal.