Vision Achiever business training programme on stream

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) is offering small business owners across Jamaica an opportunity to improve their business skills through its newly launched Vision Achiever programme, unveiled during the bank's Vision Day business fair at its Fairview branch in Montego Bay, St James, on Tuesday.

Marketing manager of programmes at Scotiabank, Kaysia Johnson-Vaughn told The Gleaner that the training programme, for which registration is currently ongoing and will end this Friday, will target 24 small businesses to participate in a 17-week training course, beginning in September.

"What this programme is aimed at is helping businesses to become more efficient and far more productive and to manage their businesses well. Twenty-four business persons will have an opportunity to be part of a 17-week coaching programme, and the renowned business coach Marcia Woon Choy is the one who will be facilitating the workshops," said Johnson-Vaughn.

"Those 17 weeks of coaching are when they (participating business owners) will actually get hands-on training, and they will be required to go back to their businesses and practise what they have learned from the training," Johnson-Vaughn continued. "It will start in September and go until December, so every other week the persons will be given an opportunity to participate in the workshop. This programme is open to all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the island; all they have to do is go on to our website, and just click on the application process and submit."

Tuesday's business fair, also doubled as a back-to-school promotional initiative by Scotiabank, provided loyal customers with opportunities to win school supplies throughout the day's proceedings.

social-media promotion

"We have an online social media back-to-school competition, where two persons, one from Twitter and one from Facebook, will each win C$1,250 (J$109,569.34) for back-to-school supplies," said Johnson-Vaughn. "To support the initiative, what we have done is brought our partners to be here today, and they are offering discounts on back-to-school supplies."

Sangster's Book Stores, the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited, Bashco Trading Company Limited, and Digicel were among the companies with display booths at the event, both for sponsorship of the upcoming business training programme and to provide back-to-school support.