Young businessmen shared the secrets of their success with the students  

"What profession to choose to study? Who should they become in the future? What do other choose?" - Every year these issues are the most pressing and difficult for high school graduates and their parents. For students it is especially difficult, because their future depends on their choice. In our country, to work not by the profession is not an uncommon thing, it is a reality.

In order to help young people to decide on their future profession, the Chamber of Entrepreneurs developed a range of activities, including meetings with successful entrepreneurs, an excursion to the companies, opening of vocational guidance offices, holding of various competitions, etc.

The choice of profession around the world starts at school. Coming out of school, they know exactly what will be their profession and where they will work. Today, the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of South Kazakhstan region together with the Career Center announced the start of the city’s competition of business ideas, "I am a future entrepreneur!" among the students of Shymkent schools. The project aimed at developing the entrepreneurial potential of students, will take place from January to May 2016. The criteria for the selection of projects will be novelty and innovative component of business ideas, business potential and feasibility of business ideas, as well as the relevance and social significance of projects.

Expert Committee will select 100 best business ideas. Selection and rewarding of the winners of the competition will be held at the city’s interschool ball. Winners of the contest will receive valuable prizes.

"We have invited the best experts so that in the course of the project students could learn about more than the market economy, entrepreneurship, and in practice could try themselves at running a business, - said Sholpan Kalzhanova, director of the Career Center. - We believe that this project will help students to make a choice of profession".

The competition of business ideas will be held in several stages: from the skills of teaching business planning skills and joint compliance of business plans together with mentors and further presentation of projects. The training program will familiarize students with the fundamentals of a market economy, business planning, motivation and teamwork. It also includes a visit to and familiarization with the activities of the mentors’ companies.

"This competition is the first stage of career guidance at schools at the professional level, which began to carry out our Chamber together with the career counseling center for students. The project aims to train children from school to the principles of the market economy", - said the director of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of South Kazakhstan region Askar Abubakirov.

By the way, this is the first time in Kazakhstan, he said, and the relevance of the project is obvious: today, more than hundreds of thousands of Kazakhstani teenagers decide annually one of the major questions of life - the choice of profession, only few make a conscious choice. Unfortunately, the system of vocational guidance in Kazakhstan is one of the weakest in the world. Young people, once having made a bad choice in the end are forced to suffer for years, and the society gets once again an army of workers that are not in demand at the labor market.

Students, wishing to make their first steps in business, during the meeting had the opportunity of a direct dialogue with those who are already prosperous: young businessmen shared secrets of their success.

The audience had a bunch of questions to the speakers: how to open their own business, to what risks one should be prepared at the stage of developing ideas, how to create a truly viable and an effective business plan? Young entrepreneurs shared their success stories, participants asked questions that received satisfactory answers.

"Success does not come by itself. It is a synthesis of your work, healthy ambition, knowledge and experience. It is not just enough to have an idea - you literally must be obsessed by it", - said Marat Altai, managing the hotel complex "Megapolis".

He was supported by Irietta Lukoyan, director of the company “Starbag”, who started her business at school. She is only 21 years old, and she, in addition to the business for the production of frameless furniture, is considering opening another business.

"I have a motto - I never think about defeat. Even the idea that something does not work, never arises in my head. I'm a real workaholic, this business takes up all my time and all my thoughts. Even at home, I'm working: I am looking for new courses, ideas, material. I am a strict leader: I do not tolerate laziness and carelessness of employees. The staff of the production unit must truly love their jobs".

26-year-old Hassan Kalimbetov, director of the company “Granddevelopmentgroup”, producing natural tile, admitted that his dismissal from the previous job pushed him to engage in business.

"When my business was in its infancy, I slept 4 hours a day. All the forces, resources and free time I gave to it, which has become now the meaning of my life. Yes, it was difficult, but things that do not break you make you stronger", - he says.

The children were wished success in their studies and in the choice of their profession. Perhaps at the next meeting one of the current students will tell his or her story of success and the process of overcoming difficulties, which make  them even stronger.