Thanks to the traineeship initiative ‘Self-employed junior entrepreneurs’, young Walloons have an opportunity to discover daily life of an entrepreneur for 10 days.

The initiative was launched in summer 2012 by IFAPME, the Walloon Institute for training the self-employed and SME workers to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit of young Walloons. For 10 days, business executives initiate a young trainee, pass on their passion, share their experience, and talk about the ups and downs they go through. It is also an opportunity to meet a future employee or a future employer.

’Welcoming young people in the company is an extremely enriching experience for us. It provides an opportunity to share expertise, and also take the pulse of the young generation which will soon come to join us in the world of work,’ explains an entrepreneur who hosted a 15-year-old young man keen to discover the world of marketing.

How does a small company function? What does becoming your own boss entail? In which sector should one embark? Is living out one’s passion feasible or is it too risky? For many young people, this initial immersion into the world of work is an opportunity to free themselves from hesitation, slip into the life of an entrepreneur and discover professions that can be learned particularly through apprenticeship.

Prepared and supervised by IFAPME, young people aged 15 to 20 are advised and equipped with tools to get acquainted with realities of work and understand different facets of managing a self-employed activity. Traineeships can be held anywhere in Wallonia and are organised during the winter, spring and summer holiday periods.

The icing on the cake: a hosting company receives EUR 150 to cover administrative costs, insurance, etc. The young person receives EUR 450 for a 10-day traineeship or an amount calculated in proportion to the number of days worked.

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