The odds of students landing good-paying jobs when they graduate are unfortunately slim.

Data from the Center for Asia Pacific studies showed that of the 100 children who enrol in first grade, only 14 will earn college degrees. And only one in 10 of the graduates will get employed.

There is, however, an alternative to scrambling for the few available jobs, and that is to become an entrepreneur.

This is the message that GE Money Bank, the consumer financial services unit of General Electric Co., wants to impart to female college students through its Women Entrepreneurship Program in partnership with the Let's Go Foundation.

“We are committed to helping transform job seekers into job creators through entrepreneurial education,” GE Money Bank CEO Ben Kua said in a statement. “Let's Go identified an opportunity for us to bring an important education and community solution to an important issue in the Philippines.”

Let's Go is a nonprofit, non-stock organization that advocates entrepreneurship through education. It conducts research, curriculum development, training of teachers and production of teaching materials.

The Women Entrepreneurship Program was launched early this month and the first phase of the program involves generating baseline data on the state of entrepreneurship among women today, as well as their needs and aspirations.

GE Money assistant vice president for communications Eric Montelibano said the study was expected to be completed in January next year.

The results would then be used as basis for developing a curriculum centered on entrepreneurship to be used in women’s colleges, such as Assumption College, St. Scholastica’s College and Miriam College.

The objective is to encourage the students to look at entrepreneurship as a real option when they graduate.

Instead of looking for jobs, they can create jobs, said Montelibano.

Focus on women

Montelibano added that GE Money expected to start training the teachers on the new curriculum as soon as the school year ends next year and, hopefully, to begin teaching entrepreneurship in women's colleges by school year 2007-2008.

GE Money Focuses on women because of their growing interest to put up their own businesses.

“Statistics indicate an increasing growth in the number of women in small, medium enterprises. Because they are growing, we want to improve the quality and thus increase the contribution of women enterprises in society,”said Jay Bernardo, founder of Let’s Go Foundation in a statement.

To inspire the students, GE Money and Lets Go will also work on the production of teachings materials featuring the stories of women entrepreneurs, as well as a website on and for women entrepreneurs to ensure continuous learning.

Montelibano said the Women Entrepreneurship Program was just the first of many projects that GE Money hoped to get involved in as it grows its business in the Philippines.

“We went into entrepreneurship because it is aligned with GE Money's operations, and we believe that the financial empowerment of women is a sustainable project,”Montelibano said.

GE Money and Let's Go believe that through this program, they would be able to help ensure the success of women entrepreneurship in the Philippines.

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