Women business owners sharpen skills with free TAFE NSW courses
Many women have used the lockdown period as an opportunity to improve their digital and marketing skills at TAFE NSW as they prepare for a post-COVID comeback.
NSW
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Female business owners are using a downturn in business activity to improve their digital, financial, and marketing skills and prepare for a bumper post-COVID comeback.
Scores of businesswomen are using free learning tools to make their business more resilient as an ease in restrictions allows them to re-open.
Newtown 1989 Arcade Bar owner Marnie Campbell has used the lockdown and her maternity leave to learn accounting, digital and marketing skills.
“Someone in my mother’s group said TAFE is doing free courses so I decided to have a look. Because I’m also on maternity leave, I thought what else can I add to my CV? Even though we are busy, we want ton to keep our minds active and improve our employment not stagnate it,” Ms Campbell said.
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“I do the accounting for our business so when I stumbled across the TAFE NSW Women in Business Program, it had a lot of finance guides and that was brilliant. Because of this pause in business, it is a good time to upskill.”
TAFE digital general manager Lyn Rickard said the organisation had seen more than 5,500 women reach out to upskill through the program.
“The quantum of women indicated the demand of upskilling in the COVID environment. As their businesses have been impacted by COVID, they are looking for short, sharp training they can use.”
Ms Rickard said many female business owners were also trying to balance learning new skills with the financial uncertainty of business closure and homeschooling their children.
“We’ve had feedback from women about how they are using this to build strategies in the next few months. What we are seeing is that after COVID, we will have women with a new set of skills and also a strong supportive network of women collaborating together,” she said.
“There are now a significant number of business owners that are women. The greatest challenge for them in the last few months has been balancing everything that is required. Having kids at home, accessing support, managing closure of business.”
Beautician Miriam Zelinkova, who operates her own eyelash extension business Lashes by Miriam from her home, said she has used her time during the coronavirus to upskill in software programs and boost her business.
“I signed up for computing skills course and E-marketing course and Women in business and have used the time to educate myself about how I can promote my business and learn more about insights of how to grow and maximise my business’ potential,” she said.
“As a new business owner I don’t have the resources to pay web designer or marketing services just yet.
“Thanks to this course I can do so by myself and build a knowledge of how constantly growing social media world works and how to use it to my business’s advantage.”
Originally published as Women business owners sharpen skills with free TAFE NSW courses