Entrepreneurial Training for the Unemployed

This personal narrative relates the evolution of a publicly funded entrepreneurial training program for the unemployed in rural Massachusetts over a seven year period. The case study documents the experiences of 428 participants who started 264 businesses and includes recommendations for future programs. Covering a review of the entrepreneurial and adult learning literature and including a discussion of issues of unemployment, Entrepreneurial Training for the Unemployed: Lessons From the Field, is relevant to a variety of disciplines. In addition to those in the entrepreneurship education arena, educators of non-traditional students will find the discussion of the need for an interactive, practical approach to curriculum development valuable. Advocates of action research will find an account of the application of theory to a "real world" situation and the value of this approach with participants in the midst of drastic life changes. This book is particularly important for those interested in economic development since it portrays the capacity of publicly funded entrepreneurial training programs to influence the economic climate in depressed areas by encouraging micro business development.