l-r Jan Bell-Irving Junior Achievement BC, Geri Collins Community Futures Dev.Corp for Central Int. First Nations, Minister Shirley Bond,  Edith Frederick Lheidli T’enneh,  and in the back row, business owner Jordan Low and Solicitor General Mike Morris

Prince George, B.C. – Small business is  the heart  the BC economy says  Minister of  Jobs Tourism and Skills Development Shirley Bond  “98% of  businesses in B.C. are small,  whether it’s  2 or  5 or ten employees, they are at the heart of the economy, so we want to make sure that young people today have a great sense of entrepreneurship  in our province and we want to make sure they have the opportunity to participate.”

Small business  generates one third of BC’s GDP and employs  more than one million  British Columbians in nearly every sector and today, the Province has announced a partnership with  Junior Achievement B.C.  the Community Futures Development Corporation of the Central Interior First Nations and the Aboriginal Business Services Network  to  help First Nations  youth  on the road to entrepreneurship.

The  B.C. Small Business Roundtable is  providing $34 thousand  to Junior Achievement BC  for a pilot project  that will introduce Aboriginal  youth to inspire  and prepare Aboriginal  youth to start  a business of their own.  The pilot project will be offered to 30  youth in eight communities,  Prince George, Kamloops, Kelowna, Neskonlith, Ft. St. John, Moberly Lake,  Cranbrook and  Tsilhqot’in-Williams Lake.

“Partnerships like this, are about empowering First Nations youth to be engaged in a key and critical economic role” says Minister Bond.  The pilot project will start in October and run through 2017.

“This project is an important step in  B.C. to reach our goal of  increasing employment by Aboriginal people by 15 thousand people by the year 2024″ says Bond.   ” I think it’s about making sure young people have the skill set   should they  want to become business owners.  I think ultimately the measurable ( of the pilot’s success)  will be  how many of them  actually go one to start a small business in our province, or be engaged in the business world in  some way.”  Bond says  First Nations are under represented in many areas of the  work force. “This is about giving them the skill set that they require  following it up and making sure that if they are interested, they have the supports in place to be successful.”

Jordan Low is  Metis  and a graduate of the Junior Achievement  program, and  the  former Spruce Kings Hockey Player is now  co-owner of a successful business in Prince George.   As co-owner of the franchise “Fresh Slice Pizza” Jordan says he was amazed at how much he still had  to learn  when launching that business.  He says with a lot of hard work,  they launched  a franchise which has become the top producer  in that chain “Going through the process, I now realize how much I didn’t know about  business, but having a good business plan and being aware of everything is  really important.  I really think this program is really important, it’s really going to   open young entrepreneurs eyes and change their mindset on what’s  available to them.”