Are you aged over 50 and interested in setting up your own business?

The Prince’s Initiative is a charity set up by HRH The Prince of Wales dedicated to enabling business creation by people aged 50 plus.

It is running a free course at The Greenway Business Centre in Harlow to help you prepare to run your own business.

The “Preparing to Run Your Own Business” course starts on October 3 and covers areas such as marketing, finance and researching your market.

Participants will learn about creating a business plan and work with an experienced business enterprise trainer during the three training days.

They will also benefit from an accredited SFEDI Level 2 Certificate qualification.

Following successful completion of the course you will be invited to attend a Prince’s Initiative celebratory networking event where you can celebrate your achievement and meet other mature entrepreneurs.

For more information about the course or to book a place, visit www.prime.org.uk/courses, email info@prime.org.uk or call 0845 862 2023.

Five hundred more Harlow people in work

At the beginning of 2012, the number of dole claimants in Harlow was 2,850.

Under the Conservative-led Government, this has now fallen steadily to 2,311 today. This has been the trend right through 2012, which has seen falling unemployment in Harlow in every single month. [1]

It is  good news that 500 new jobs have come back to Harlow, and that many hundreds of local residents are now back working.

I am organising a Job's Fair at the Leisure Zone in the autumn to help local jobseekers find employment.

This week I have written to over 700 Harlow firms, inviting them to come to recruit new staff at the event. I have had support from Employment Minister Chris Grayling, who hopes to be able to open the event.

The aim of the Job's Fair is to help local people, who are looking for a job, to meet companies with vacancies. There will also be job-training seminars, such as CV workshops.

I have also received strong support and help for the Job's Fair from Harlow Chamber of Commerce, the local Jobcentre, Harlow College, and Olympic torch-bearer Mike Jackson.

I welcome this progress in getting Harlow people back into work. But much more needs to be done. We are still left with the legacy of 2.5 million unemployed, from the last Labour Government, including 1 million young people on the dole.

I wouldn't say there is light at the end of the tunnel - but at least we are digging through the tunnel. It is fantastic that 2012 has seen more than 500 local residents getting back into work.

 The free one-day Jobs Fair is being kindly supported by our local Jobcentre and Chambers of Commerce, as well as Olympic torch-bearer Mike Jackson.

For local firms, it is free to exhibit at the Job’s Fair.

Attendees and exhibitors alike can sign-up online at www.harlowjobsfair.eventbright.com."

1) Unemployment data source: DWP monthly statistics at http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/wpca/1929380040/subreports/jsa_time_series/report.aspx?
Robert Halfon MP meeting with Raytheon employees and Harlow College apprentices.