On the day when the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) lambasted the country’s high school system for not doing more to encourage entrepreneurialism, Simon Fraser University (SFU) students had a strong showing at an Association of Canadian Entrepreneurs competition in Toronto.
CFIB released a survey May 11 in which 84% of B.C. entrepreneurs said they would choose the same career path, if given an opportunity to start over.
Many of those entrepreneurs said schools do not do a good job at promoting entrepreneurship.
“If entrepreneurial skills and aptitudes were sufficiently encouraged in the education system, the next generation of business owners would be in for a great career,” said Laura Jones, CFIB’s senior vice-president of research and western Canada.
SFU’s Students in Free Enterprise group, meanwhile, placed alongside Acadia University, St. Lawrence College, Ryerson University and Memorial University in the top five of the competition.
SFU’s Jordan Gutierrez, who created librerialeo.com.mx – an online medical bookstore – was named runner-up in the 2011 student entrepreneur of the year.
Glen Korstrom
Twitter: glenkorstrom