An innovative skills-based / entrepreneurship program featuring a person-centered approach to technical vocational education and training in the creative industries for youth with developmental disabilities.

The program equips these passionate and abled individuals  for self-employment and/or the traditional workforce.  

CONTEXT:

A gap exists in the area of innovative skills development programming for youth with developmental disabilities.

Traditional  programs focus solely on “Adult Day-Care” and vocational training for menial commercial/ industrial duties unrelated to the individuals' personal passions or aptitudes. These programs  do not provide youth with the opportunity to develop their inherent talents and utilize them for employment and financial independence.

OVERARCHING GOAL:

To establish and operate a resource centre to be used for visual arts skills development, entrepreneurship training and industry awareness workshops to facilitate the job placement and/or self-employment of post-secondary school-aged youth with developmental disabilities.

AIMS:

1) Skills Development

2) Entrepreneurship Training

3) Industry Awareness

4) Research and Replicability

GOAL:

This course provides a basic understanding of the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and creative management for persons with intellectual disabilities. 

The course aims to foster a sense of self-empowerment and self-sufficiency for these individuals to manage their creative capacity.  

COURSE OVERVIEW:

The course is structured as a series of 7 modules formatted as practical hands-on workshops. 

By the end of the course students would have produced a personalized brand concept, a one-page business plan and have an understanding of the auxiliary supports needed to manage their freelance business.

MODULES:

1. Entrepreneurship Fundamentals: Managing your Creative Ability

2. Celebrating your Ability

3. Identifying Your Brand and your Market

4. Creating your Business Mission and Vision

5. Budgeting Basics

6. Your Business Plan

7. The Creative Community 

MODULE 1:
Entrepreneurship Fundamentals: Managing your Creative Ability 

This module is a introduction to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship including the qualities, characteristics and skills of an entrepreneur. 

It is understood that the participants may possess  a limited aptitude based on their intellectual capacity, however the goal is to help the student place themself within this context, identify their limitations (the gaps) and note  the  the external community supports required to operate their business successfully. 

MODULE 2:
Celebrating Your Ability!

This motivational workshop focuses on identity building in the participants and community building through an introduction to the local and global arts community as well as the creative industries as an economic sector.  An historic perspective of art as a craft will be presented to help validate the vocation as a profession and as cultural capital

Participants will be introduced to the notions creativity, purpose, self -expression and self-advocacy. 

MODULE 3:
Identity Design: Branding

A brand is a critical part of a marketing strategy for a business. This workshop will introduce participants to the basics of branding including the logo, the messaging, the strategy, and marketing. 

To support the goal of each participant to work freelance, the workshop component with assist in the identification of  each person’s identity and how that can be formatted into a unique brand.

With the assistance of the assistant facilitator, a preliminary text based brand will be proposed.

MODULE 4:
Creating your Business Mission and Vision

This module will introduce the participants to the concept of a business mission and vision.  
The workshop  will lead the participants in writing simplified statements.

MODULE 5:
Budgeting Basics for Business

Each new business enterprise is expected to have costs associated with start up and operations.  This course will walk students through the basics of budgeting for a new business.

The workshop will help participants draft a preliminary budget for their freelance creative  practice.

MODULE 6:
Your Business Plan

Business Plans are the foundation for all business endeavours.  They provide a roadmap for success and position the business owner to move forward in securing the necessary infrastructure resources to carry out the business. 

The goal of this module is to introduce participants to the importance of the business plan and to help the participant craft a high-level “one-pager” business plan by consolidating the outcomes from each of the previous modules. 

MODULE 7:
The Creative Community

The Legacy Creative is a community of artists who collectively produce and market creative work to the wider external community.  

This session introduces the participants to the collective community to which they are now invited to engage within.  This includes studio space, a communal marketing website, an online gallery and virtual events to auction artists’ work.