Are you about starting a vocational training center? If YES, here is a complete sample vocational school business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a vocational school. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample vocational training business marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for vocational schools. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.
There are countless number of people out there who are trying to acquire skills that will enable them put food on their table, pay their bills and ultimately become their own boss, and a vocational school & training center is just an ideal place they can get the journey started.
You can be rest assured that your services will always be in demand not only by young or old people who could not make it to the university or college, but also by graduates who would want to start a skill based business of their own. The truth is that if your vocational school & training center has loads of courses (trades) and is government approved, then you may not have to struggle to persuade students to enroll in your school.
Just like most businesses, the trade and technical school industry is open for as many people that are interested in the industry as long as you have what it takes to run an accredited vocational school & training center.
Even if you don’t have the finance and other requirements, you can come into the industry by starting out as a small music school or driving school in your neighborhood. If you have decided to start a vocational school & training center, then you should must make sure that you carry out thorough feasibility studies and also market survey.
Lastly, you would need a good business plant to be able to launch a successful business, and below is a workable vocational school & training center business plan template that will help your draft yours.
Vocational school and training center falls under the Trade and Technical Schools industry, and it comprises of schools that offer vocational and technical training in a wide range of technical subjects and trades. The trainings offered by trade and technical schools often lead to job-specific certification.
Instruction may be provided in diverse settings, such as the company’s training facilities, the workplace, the home or through distance-learning methods. Key areas in this industry include music schools and musical instrument training, cosmetology and barber schools, flight training, apprenticeship training and other technical training.
If you are a keen follower of the Trade and Technical Schools industry in the united states, you will agree that the industry has experienced fluctuations over the last five years due to the recession and stagnant growth in federal funding for such schools.
High unemployment has caused individuals to seek out further education, while employers are increasing their training requirements to remain competitive. Going forward, decreasing unemployment rates combined with the increasing tuition of four-year colleges will both boast enrollment in vocational training, and hamper industry growth.
Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 8,876 registered and licensed (accredited) trade and technical schools scattered all across the country responsible for employing about 127,260 people and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $13 billion annually.
The industry grew at -6.3 percent annual growth within 2012 and 2017. It is important to state that there are no establishment in this industry that has a lion market share.
A recent report released by IBISWorld shows that the Trade and Technical Schools industry operates in a countercyclical manner. The report shows that the industry revenue grew significantly as a result slow economic growth earlier over the five years to 2016, but has suffered subsequently.
Sluggish economic activity helped the industry to grow as the unemployed sought professional training to improve their job prospects.
As national unemployment has decreased however, so has industry revenue. The report further stated that in recent years, the restructuring of the US economy has accelerated. Service industry professions are in higher demand than ever, while growth in manufacturing continues to fail to impress. As a result, individuals displaced by major economic change are still retooling their skillset.
Due to the fact that it is stressful to get government accreditation for a standard vocational school & training center in the United States, it will be safe to say the industry is under saturated. It is important to state that entrepreneurs who are into training people on various trade/skills such as how to drive, how to play musical instrument, how to cook and how to dance et al can easily be found without stress.
Some of the factors that encourage entrepreneurs to start their own vocational school & training center despite the fact that the business is challenging could be that the business is highly profitable, they can easily get funding and support from government and charity organizations and the business can be started in any part of the world.
Starting a vocational school requires professionalism and good grasp of the trade you want to teach people. Besides, you would need to get the required certifications and license (accreditations) and also meet the standard for such business before you can be allowed to start.
One good thing about the Trade and Technical Schools industry is that there is readily available market for their services. So, if you are well positioned and you know how to impart skills to students, you will always smile to the bank.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is a registered and accredited trade and technical school that will be located in Orange County – California. We are registered under the United States’ Government. We are well equipped to train people on various technical and vocational skills.
We are set to offer vocational and technical trade trainings such as automobiles, electrical works, music schools and musical instrument training, cosmetology and barber schools, flight training, apprenticeship training and other technical training.
At Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC we are passionate in the pursuit of excellence and financial success with uncompromising services and integrity which is why we have decided to start our own vocational school & training center in Orange County – California.
We are quite optimistic that our values and quality of service offering will help us drive our center to enviable heights and also help us attract the number of students that will make the business highly profitable.
We are in the Trade and Technical Schools industry to favorably compete with other leading brands in the industry. Our corporate business goal is to be among the top 5 vocational school & training centers in the United States of America.
As a company, we are willing to go the extra mile to invest in some of the finest professionals we can find and also, we have put process and structures in place that will ensure that we are always at the top of our game when it comes to impacting knowledge. We have been able to secure permits from all relevant departments in the State of California.
We are quite aware that in order to become the number one choice in our city, we must continue to deliver quality and safe trainings and that is exactly what we will do.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is owned and managed by Richmond Jones and other members of his faculty. Richmond Jones has over 15 years’ hands on experience in the Trade and Technical Schools industry in the United States and he is a Certified Technical Skill Trainer and has certification in a Niche Area (Trade and Technical Vocation).
Our Business Structure
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is aware that the success of any business lies in the foundation on which the business is built on, which is why we have decided to build our vocational school & training center on the right foundation.
We want to build a business of dedicated workforce who will go all the way to ensure that our students are satisfied and they get value for their money when they enroll in our training center. We aware that it takes a business with the right employees and structure to achieve all what we have set to achieve, which is why will be putting structures and standard operating processes in place that will help us deliver excellent trainings and run the business on auto pilot.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC will employ professionals and skilled people to occupy the following position;
Head of the School / School Coordinator:
School Administrator
Instructors
Marketing and Sales Executive
Accountant
Client Service Executive
In the United States, vocational school & training center is one of the many businesses that can easily generate business deals with little stress as long as they are well positioned. We are building a standard vocational school & training center with various training areas which is why we have decided to subject our business idea to SWOT Analysis.
Ordinarily we can successfully run a normal vocational school & training center without the stress of going through the required protocol of setting up a new business, but because of the nature of the vocational school & training center we want to establish, we don’t have any option other than to follow due process.
We hired the services of a HR and Business consultant with bias in startups to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our company and she did a pretty job for us. Here is a of the result we got from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC;
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is centrally located in an area with the right climatic conditions and demographic composition for the kind of business we want to run. Another strength that counts for us is the power of our team; our workforce and management. We have a team that are considered experts in the vocational school line of business, a team of hardworking and dedicated individuals.
Weakness:
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is a new business and we may not have the financial muscle to acquire the latest equipment needed to train students, to attract and retain the best hands in the industry and also to sustain the kind of publicity we want to give our business.
We are centrally located in one of the busiest areas in Orange County – California and we are open to all the available opportunities that the city has to offer. Our business concept and staff strength also positioned us to accommodate over 100 students per time.
The truth is that there are no standard vocational school & training centers within our area; the closest to our proposed location is about 10 miles away. In a nutshell, we do not have any direct competition within our target market area.
Some of the threats that are likely going to confront Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC are unfavorable government policies, seasonal fluctuations, demographic/social factors, downturn in the economy which is likely going to affect consumers spending and of course emergence of new competitors within the same location where our vocational school & training center is located.
The truth is that any vocational school & training center that has good records and loads of positive testimonials from students who have passed through the school will always thrive.
Another common trend in the industry is that in the bid to survive global economic meltdown and to ensure steady flow of income to effectively run the business, most players in the industry engage in other related services. Some of them even go as far as establishing agency services to provide professional and certified pilots for clients and some also offer specialized training for executive students.
It is a known pattern that as unemployment declines, demand for courses provided by this industry will drop, as further education and training become less essential to finding employment. The national unemployment rate is expected to decrease significantly over 2017, posing a serious potential threat to the industry.
As a matter of fact, about half of total government postsecondary education comes from state governments while federal contributions comprise mostly of grants bestowed on universities to be used for specific research. A rise in government funding for universities will cause enrollment in technical and trade schools to grow, as government funding typically increases affordability for students who need education loans. Government funding for universities is expected to increase over 2017, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.
Prior to choosing a location for our vocational school & training center, we conducted thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we were able to identify those who will benefit greatly from our service offerings.
Essentially, the demographic and psychographic composition of those who require our services cut across individuals, school leavers, corporate organizations, aspiring entrepreneurs and religious organizations who need to acquire trade and technical skill sets.
In spite of the fact that vocational schools scale through hurdles before they are established does not mean that there are no real competitions in the industry. The truth is that no matter the line of business that you are involved in, as long as it is called business, you will definitely face one form of competition or the other and vocational school & training center is not an exemption.
So, if you are looking towards setting up this type of business, it is advisable to do your due diligence before launching the business if indeed you want to succeed.
Our competitive edge is that we have the ability to quickly adopt new technology, we have access to highly skilled workforce and our location is in fact one of our major strengths because we are located with the right demography for the kind of business we run.
Another strength that counts for us is the power of our team and management. We have a team that are considered experts in the vocational school & training center line of business, a team of hardworking and dedicated individuals.
Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the Trade and Technical Schools industry and we are going to ensure that we do all it takes to attract both individual clients and corporate clients on a regular basis.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC will generate income by offering the following services;
We are well positioned to take on the available market in and around Orange County – California and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income/profits from the first six months of operation and grow our vocational school & training center and our student base.
N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the vocational school & training center line of business and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same related services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
The marketing strategy adopted by Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is going to be driven basically by excellent customer service and quality training delivery. We will ensure that we build a loyal customer base.
We want to drive sales via the output of our jobs and via referral from our satisfied students. We are quite aware of how satisfied students drive business growth especially businesses like vocational school & training centers and related services.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is strategically located and we are going to maximize the opportunities that is available which is why we spent more to locate the business where it will be visible and accessible to our target market.
Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets.
Our goal is to grow Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC to become the leading vocational school & training center in Orange County – California which is why we have mapped out strategies that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with in our line of business.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is set to create a standard for the vocational school & training center business not only in Orange County – California, but throughout the United States of America which is why we will go all the way to adopt and apply best practices to promote our business.
At Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC we will keep our fees below the average market rate by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.
We are aware that there are some students that would need special assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such students’ needs. The prices of our training services and certifications will be same as what is obtainable in the open market.
The payment policy adopted by Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation in the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC will make available to her clients;
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for registering and services rendered without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional material.
If you are looking towards starting a vocational school & training center, then you should be ready to raise enough capital to cover some of the basic expenditure that you are going to incur. You will need money to secure a standard facility, acquire different types of training machines and equipment, acquire license and permits, relevant software apps and you will need money to pay your workforce and bills for a while until the revenue you generate from the business becomes enough to pay them.
Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need about seven hundred and fifty thousand (750,000) U.S. dollars to successfully set up a medium scale but standard vocational school & training center business in the United States of America.
Generating Funds/Startup for Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is owned and managed by Richmond Jones and other members of the faculty. They are the financiers of the business which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital for the business to just three major sources.
N.B: We have been able to generate about $350,000 (Personal savings $300,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $400,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.
The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of their employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.
One of our major goals of starting Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.
We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our vocation and trade training services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.
Richmond Jones® Vocational Training Center, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List/Milestone
