DIY Business College

When we purchased the Shop we wanted to make it more than just a quiet little job. One of our aims was to provide the young people working there with valuable training and experience.
Part of this is ensuring all the staff are familiar with the many aspects of the shop from Coffee, Cooking, Post Office, Newsagency, DVD rentals, Groceries and more. I wanted them to have something on their resume when they moved on.
Ariel, Eric and a local girl are all working on an official apprenticeship with an Employment Training organisation. They are doing a course in Business Management - Ariel doing a Level 4 certificate, and Eric and the girl doing Level 3 this year, and the level 4 certificate next year.
This course is college equivalent training and will help if they ever want to continue on to a University level degree later.
We have seen their service levels and knowledge grow quickly as they apply the training to their work at the Shop.
For Eric this is a great homeschooling alternative to the typical year 11 and 12 studies.  Not only is he getting invaluable experience with business and getting paid, but he obtains credits that can be applied to a university (college) degree in a few years' time.  As he is only 16, this works out very well.
This is also a great test of how we have done in preparing the children.  We have homeschooled them from the beginning, so this is the first real external means we have had to confirm our methods.  The reaction from the external trainer is very positive.  Woo hoo!
We were told at every stage by friends and strangers, "Just you wait until X is Y years old!  Then you will be in trouble."  Well, so far we have enjoyed every stage of each child and continue to enjoy living and working with the older ones too.