Overview of the NFTE programme

The entrepreneurship education programmes developed by NFTE introduce people of all ages to the world of business and seek to:

• Empower low-income people, teaching them the basics of practical business
• Enable low income/disadvantaged/disengaged individuals and groups to engage and participate in economic growth and development
• Cover business/initiative start-up, entrepreneurship principles, financial literacy, language, and leadership skills
• Provide guidance from certified teachers that enables students to identify a business idea, plan and determine whether the idea can be turned into a reality, i.e. a viable business, and have the tools to make it happen

The NFTE teaching philosophy is predicted on several tenets, key ones are:

• Learning business should be fun
• Experience is the best teacher
• ‘Hands-on’ activities are the primary learning and teaching tools
• Textbooks, workbooks and theory should support practice-based learning, not form the basis for learning

All our teachers must be trained and certified to teach NFTE programmes according to NFTE philosophies. All teaching is focused on integrated, practice-based, hands-on activity. The theory and excellent resources developed by NFTE support and consolidate the ‘real-world’ learning activities.

The NFTE programme also differs from other programmes by offering post-course support to its NFTE students. All graduates of a NFTE programme are incorporated into an Alumni network where they can continue to network with their peers on a regional level and are also introduced to NFTE graduates nationally and internationally.

Entrepreneurship education is designed to cover key subject areas through an integrated curriculum approach. The subject areas are:

1.       Entrepreneurship

2.       Marketing

3.       Management

4.       Economics

5.       Accounting

6.       Finance

7.       Global

8.       Legal

9.       Business Plans

“NFTE leads the way in international entrepreneurship and enterprise education.  Seeing the changes in people’s lives, the incredible increases in personal confidence and achievement, and life-changing nature of NFTE is so inspiring. Experiencing NFTE in action, helping us reclaim our entrepreneurial spirit and activate out skills; seeing the power and enablement that enters into whanau and communities when we become financially literate and able to utilize all our resources, is awesome!”
Dr Catherine Love, National Manager, Entrepreneurship New Zealand Trust