Developing a Business Plan: A Training Centre for Job Seekers

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This project details a business plan for a training center for unemployed individuals.

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS
Business plan- ‘A training centre for unemployed’

Table of Contents
PART 1............................................................................................................................................2
1.1 BUSINESS TYPE.....................................................................................................................2
1.2 RESEARCH............................................................................................................................ 2
PART 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 MCCARTHY’S 4P’S OF MARKETING......................................................................................4
2.2 ROLE OF HUMAN BEINGS PLAYED IN THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT..................................5
2.3 TARGET MARKETS AND CUSTOMER COHORTS....................................................................7
PART 3............................................................................................................................................9
3.1.............................................................................................................................................. 9
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................11
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PART 1
The new business venture which I am going to start is a training centre for employed people.
The training centre will provide necessary guidance to the people who are in search of
employment. The vision of this business venture will be to provide adequate training and
education to the people according to their abilities and skills (Barrow et al., 2012). The people
who are less educated can be provided a training program to pursue agriculture and farming
practices and the candidates with higher education and skills will be provided training to get
employment in Information technology and other technology-oriented sectors.
The unique aspects of this business venture will be its mission and vision which is more inclined
towards helping the people get stable employment rather earning more and more money.
1.1 BUSINESS TYPE
The business model appropriate for the current entrepreneurial venture will be ’Private limited
company’. This kind of business venture can be set by individuals at minimum investment. The
‘limited’ status provides credibility to the organisation and gives confidence to the customers
and other parties associated with the business. Many other benefits are provided to a private
limited company (Stutely, 2012). These benefits may include a reduction in taxes and
contributions by the government in the pension provided to the employees. The companies
having a private limited status can maintain a more professional image.
1.2 RESEARCH
The existing competitors in the business are ‘Learn Direct’ and ‘Free to learn’, these businesses
are providing similar services related to employment training. To create a competitive edge
over these existing companies I need to focus on the quality of learning opportunities available
(Finch, 2013). A team of experienced professionals need to be recruited so that they can
provide useful information to the candidate about the job market scenario in the country.
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Figure 1: UK unemployment rate
[Source: Labour Force Survey, ONS, 2019]
We can see in the above graph that out of total economically active people in the UK, the rate
of unemployed people is around 5-6%. Comparing with the unemployment rate in last few
years it can be said that the unemployment rate in 2018 has dropped considerably, but still,
there are enough opportunities for the new companies to establish their business in this field.
The new business has to understand the demands of the target customers and then finalise
strategies to connect with these targeted customers. Providing better training also helps the
industries to create better job opportunities for university students.
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PART 2
2.1 MCCARTHY’S 4P’S OF MARKETING
Place: Search an appropriate location for the training centre. The location of the training centre
should be in near railways stations and other public places so that customers can reach easily
up to the training centre. In addition, a detailed analysis of the competitors in the local area
should also be done so that an appropriate strategy can be made to scale the business in
minimum possible time (Baker, 2016). By analysing the business processes of the competitors
some additional courses can be started in the training centres which are popular in the
customers.
Services: The service offered at the training centre includes the security and Maths and English
Course, IT courses, healthcare courses, lifestyle courses and warehouse employment courses. In
the primary stage the above-mentioned services will be provided, but according to the demand,
some additional cortices can also be added (Khan, 2014). The quality of the training can be
improved when well qualified professional are recruited for providing training to the
candidates. In addition, the feedbacks of the customers should also be collected from time to
time so that concerns of the service users can be addressed.
Price
A range of pricing strategies can be used by the companies according to the buying preferences
of the target customers. The economy pricing strategy focuses on the most price-conscious
customers. The company minimises the cost in marketing and operations so that customers can
be offered minimum prices for the services offered. This strategy is not suitable for large
corporations like Tesco and Sainsbury, but for start-up business like training centre, it is not
suitable to use this strategy (McDaniel and Gates, 2013). Price skimming strategy will be more
suitable for the training centre business. In this pricing strategy, in the initial stage, the prices
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are set high. The customers are ready to pay the high prices due to the uniqueness of the offer
and later these prices can be lowered down as the demands for the course slows down.
Promotion
The promotion programs play an important role in increasing the visibility of the company and
enhance brand awareness. The new business can be promoted with the help of Pamphlets,
hand-outs, brochures and billboards. In addition, an advertisement in local newspapers is also
an effective tool to promote the services of the company (Schindehutte et al., 2010).
Promotional activities also provide useful information to the customers regarding new training
programs offered by the training centre and the discounts and offers available.
Social media is a strong medium of promotion which can be used to advertise the services
provided by the company. The target customers of the company are generally young candidates
and this target group is highly engaged in different social media channels. To register the
presence of the company on these platforms, it is necessary that the company actively
participates in these social media platforms (Schlegelmilch, 2016). The official Facebook page of
the company can be used to provide new information to the customer regarding offers and
benefits as well as special training sessions.
2.2 ROLE OF HUMAN BEINGS PLAYED IN THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Employees are the key assets for an organisation whether it is big or small. Planning the exact
requirement of the workforce is necessary so that the job roles of the employees can be
prepared in advance, having a clear and well-defined job role help employees to improve the
quality of services offered (Slater, 2015). In addition, necessary training should also be provided
to the employee so that they can improve their current skills.
JOB ROLES ASSIGNED TO THE BUSINESS EMPLOYEES
The business start-up of a training centre for unemployed needs a workforce of a minimum of 7
employees. One manager is also required to look after the day-to-day activities at the centre. In
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addition, trainers and subjects experts having adequate experience and qualification are also
required. A person may also be required to manage the reception. This employee will answer
the queries of the customers arriving at the centre (Solcansky and Simberova, 2010). All these
employees play an important role in the smooth functioning of the organisation, and it is
necessary to provide the necessary facilities and benefits to keep them satisfied in the
workplace.
ROLE OF A MANAGER
A manager of a small organisation has to carry a number of responsibilities at a time and by
preparing a detailed job role and the roles and responsibilities for the manager, his job will
become more organised and he will be able to prioritise the most important activities. Below
mentioned are the primary roles and responsibilities of a manager at the training centre:
 To manage the schedule of different classes in the training centre and make decisions in
case the trainers are absent.
 To manage different day-to-day activities at the training centre and make sure that the
workforce stays motivated (Varadarajan, 2010).
 To understand the requirements of the candidates by taking regular feedbacks from
them.
 Following a proactive approach in preparing the budget for different activities in the
business so that funds can be managed on time (Yasanallah and Bidram, 2012).
ZERO-HOUR CONTRACT
Zero hours contract is an agreement under which the employer does not tell the exact hours of
work the employee has to serve. Such an arrangement is prevalent in the industries where the
demand for the services is irregular (Barrow et al., 2012). This kind of arrangement provides
great flexibility to the employees to fulfil other commitments such as study or family
responsibilities.
Advantages and disadvantages of Zero-hour contract
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 Advantage: The greatest advantage of zero hour contracts is that employee is liable to
get a minimum wage irrespective of how many hours are actually offered by the
employer.
 Advantage: this kind of work is beneficial for individuals who are not willing to work on
a full-time basis (Schlegelmilch, 2016).
 Advantage: the flexibility of the work hours provides such benefits which outweigh its
disadvantage.
 Disadvantage: the employees engaged in such contracts are not able to take any other
works as they are obliged to be always available to work according to the contract
 Disadvantage: as the employees work in an irregular way and their job timings keep
changing, they are not able to create a work-life balance (Barrow et al., 2012).
2.3 TARGET MARKETS AND CUSTOMER COHORTS
For implementing the marketing strategies effectively, first, the target market needs to be
decided. The target market is finalised by carefully analysing the demographics of the region.
The techniques of segmenting targeting and positioning can also be used for this purpose. The
segmentation of the population is done on the basis of age, gender, education or financial
status (Schlegelmilch, 2016). After deciding the target market, the strategies are made to make
a connection with these targeted customers and the tools and techniques to be used for the
purpose are finalised. The target market for the training centre for unemployed may include
newly graduated students. To make a perfect offering to this target market the company need
to understand their requirements.
The customer cohorts are the group of customers which can be targeted to sell the services
offered by the company. It is important that the needs and demands of these customer cohorts
are analysed deeply before deciding the right marketing strategy (Varadarajan, R., 2010). After
finalising the appropriate strategy according to the demands of the customers, the company
need to decide the right channel; social media platforms are the most effective platforms to
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connect with the youths and create brand awareness among the target customers. These
marketing methods are cost-effective and can help the company reach up to a wide audience.
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PART 3
3.1
This business venture of establishing a training centre for unemployed people is expected to get
brilliant success. It has been seen that the university students learn the theoretical part of
things but in the absence of practical application they are not able to get employment in the
industries. The programs in the training centre are designed according to the needs of the
candidates and it is expected to create better job scenario. The industries are struggling from
the shortage of skilled candidates and these programs will be helpful in fulfilling this demand.
STRATEGIES TO EXPAND THE BUSINESS
After establishing the business successfully, the next step is to scale the business so that the
profit level can be increased and the brand can be further leveraged. Below discussed are some
strategies which can be used to expand the functions of the training centre:
Keep adding new services:
By adding new courses in the module, new customers can be attracted to the business. To
implement this strategy successfully, there is a need to assess the current demands of the
customers and develop new courses to fulfil this demand (Stutely, 2012). Market research can
prove as an effective tool to gather information regarding new services in demand.
Create a customer loyalty program
These programs are able to leverage the demand for the services of the company. Selling
products is much easier than acquiring a new customer (Schlegelmilch, 2016). The customer
loyalty programs aim to reward the regular customers of the business and provide them with
special benefits. Well-planned customer loyalty programs help in retaining the existing
customers and attract new ones while having no extra expenses.
Form a strategic partnership
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Such a partnership can be done with the IT companies which will provide different software and
tools so that the learners can be provided useful information in an interactive manner
(Varadarajan, 2010). By making such collaborations, the company can expand its reach and
improve the quality of services provided.
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REFERENCES
1. Baker, M.J., 2016. What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book (pp. 25-42).
Routledge.
2. Barrow, C., Barrow, P. and Brown, R., 2012. The business plan workbook. Kogan
Page Publishers.
3. Finch, B., 2013. How to write a business plan (Vol. 35). Kogan Page Publishers.
4. Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of'marketing mix and its elements (a conceptual
review paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2),
p.95.
5. McDaniel, C. and Gates, R., 2013. Marketing research. Singapore.
6. ONS, 2019. Online available at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employment
andemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/september2018#young-people-in-
the-labour-market [last accessed on 15 March 2019]
7. Perreault, W.D., Cannon, J.P. and McCarthy, E.J., 2011. Basic marketing: A marketing
strategy planning approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
8. Schindehutte, M., Morris, M. and Pitt, L., 2010. Rethinking marketing. Pearson
Australia Pty Limited.
9. Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2016. Segmenting Targeting and Positioning in Global Markets.
In Global Marketing Strategy (pp. 63-82). Springer International Publishing.
10. Slater, S.P., 2015. The Tasks of Strategic Market Management: The Role of
Marketing. In Proceedings of the 1989 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual
Conference (pp. 667-667). Springer, Cham.
11. Solcansky, M. and Simberova, I., 2010. Measurement of marketing effectiveness.
Economics and management, 15, pp.755-759.
12. Stutely, R., 2012. The definitive business plan: the fast track to intelligent planning
for executives and entrepreneurs. Pearson UK.
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