Barbara Walters chats with Forward Syria
Swaying between art and seduction
Discussing monetary policy with the man in charge
Where the earth screams in horror
11/10/2010 - Issue 44
SHABAB Business Clinic
Business Clinic opening doors to young students looking to penetrate the labor force and become entrepreneurs
Seen from the street where it stands, the SHABAB Business Clinic is quite an inconspicuous place. Were it not for the sign bulgingly mentioning its name, it might go utterly unnoticed. This small office space, sitting in the cellar of a building was founded a little over two years ago by an enthusiastic group of people. Its ambitions are broad but its mission is simple and perfectly described by its very name. It aims to treat or help prevent all the woes that young and aspiring business men and women of Syria might have. This task might seem prodigious, typically behoving much larger institutions such as universities. However, the Business Clinic aims to cure precisely that which universities – being stuck into an immutable academic perspective – are unable to do regarding entry into active business life.
Their typical “student” is aged between 15 and 30, usually has a relatively high level of education, and is trying to find a successful way out of the academic life into the next stage of his or her existence: work.
In an increasingly globalized world, competition for any kind of post is tough, and getting tougher by the day. Whether in Syria or abroad, these students have to fight their way through conventions they often know little or nothing about, and present themselves in the best possible light to any and all potential employers – which they must also find. For a neophyte, this is no small task.
To grapple with these problems, the Clinic offers series of courses, given by volunteer trainers, on a wide range of subjects. From simplest to most complex the courses can teach one how to behave in an interview, how to write a curriculum vitae, a business plan, or perform a market research. Furthermore, in an attempt to improve a skill that has simply become indispensable in most if not all business fields, a conversational English class is given once a week.
The volunteer trainers are usually people who have also attained a high degree of education and, more importantly, a high level of experience in a particular field of business. Some experience abroad, be it educational or professional, is a welcome bonus to the pupils. But the center and its trainers are not limited to lecturing. One-on-one counselling is always available to those who seek it, and morning classes are consistently followed by practical workshops. These workshops target a specific area of business and are given by volunteers with past or ongoing practice in that area.
By the same token, the center will go even further in providing practical experience to its students. Every other month, two interns will have the opportunity to earn some heuristic knowledge in a two-month stage for the centre itself. This opportunity serves a dual purpose: it gives the fortunate intern a bit of real work experience and helps give weight to an otherwise light curriculum – which is often the principal ground for refusal in first job interviews. As the saying goes, to get experience one must first be given the chance to attain it.
The last and possibly more fundamental goal of the centre is to provide its students with an essential tool to ensure their success in business: a network. Beyond the network they will automatically acquire among their fellow students and trainers, the Clinic seeks to put them in contact with other companies outside the “school” itself. This is done mainly with partnership but also through external internship offers posted by the Clinic.
The SHABAB Business Clinic has consistently achieved a participation of around 2000 students every year. Their main goal for the future is to expand, not only geographically over Syria, but also in Damascus. Their present location remains quite small and cannot conceivably serve a greater number of students. In their pipeline is also a project – still in its testing phase – to provide telephone counselling of the same tenor to any individuals who seek it. However, as any charitable organization they must always be on lookout for additional funding, and any future expansion is harshly dependant on the finding of those new funds.
The Business Clinic is sponsored by Qatari Silatak Foundation, and shall soon open another branch in Aleppo, within a space donated by the city council.
