Prime Initiative to help over 50s back to work

The Prime Initiative is a charity set up to help the over 50s to start their own business. It is needed to address over 50s' huge problems of unemployment and discrimination in the conventional job market.

PRIME (the Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise) was originally founded by HRH the Prince of Wales who recognised this huge labour market failure which is common to all developed countries. His Royal Highness had received a large number of letters from people who felt that they were now unemployable due to their age.

Today, in the UK, almost one in three people between 50 and pensionable age is unemployed, while only a tiny percentage - under 10 per cent - is comfortably retired. The majority are living on inadequate pensions and state benefits, may be carers, registered unemployed or have been made redundant.

So what does PRIME offer to those older people who while unemployed still have an entrepreneurial spirit of adventure? The organisation supplies business workshops, free information and networking events. If you contact PRIME it can refer you to accredited free business advisors and can also offer free mentoring as well as other services.

For those who themselves wish to become self employed there is the PRIME Business Club, which has lots of good ideas and valuable information for starting up businesses. On this website you can find out about PRIME's efforts to improve Government policy towards older enterprise, the supportive research and the changing nature of business support. There is also information about how PRIME is funded and asks for help and volunteers.

As Prince Charles has said: "The experience and skills which people build up over a lifetime are an invaluable resource. It is madness for society not to make use of this.”

To promote PRIME and its initiatives there is to be an open day on 25 March 2010. A free event, this is to be the biggest government business support road show, set up to provide support and information to businesses with a nationwide series of exhibitions. Organised by HM Revenue and Customs, it features local organisations and has representatives from national organisations to offer support and advice to local businesses.

This is a free event which hosts a full team of experts who are there to provide advice and technical support on all aspects of business start-up, with free seminars covering topics such as meeting government regulations, funding and making as much possible use of new technology to help your business thrive.

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