‘Before you start a business, work on mindsets first’

By ELLEN TIAMU
HUMAN Development Institute (HDI) Founder, Samuel Tam Snr or Papa Sam as he is commonly known to thousands of people around PNG, says education throughout the world is primarily aimed at employment and does not prepare people for unemployment.
Making the announcement two weeks ago at an Open Day at the Institute’s Six Mile office, Papa Sam said there is nothing written in schools to prepare students who might some time in their lives, encounter poverty, which affects 99 percent of people around the world.
Papa Sam was in Singapore over the Christmas holidays and was surprised to discover that country’s media that the Education Minister was concerned about the caliber of students it was producing, despite Singaporean students coming top in world education rankings. The country is now trying to teach its students, life skills, something HDI has been teaching in PNG for over two decades.
The Education Minister (Schools) Ng Chee Meng, was reported to have said the country needs to nurture the “entrepreneurial dare” in young Singaporeans.
A Straits Times newspaper report said Ng’s concern stems from complaints by employers and company chiefs, who say Singapore workers, despite being technically good and hardworking, do not think out of the box and lack the derringdo to push boundaries.
Mr Ng is quick to add that he does not mean all Singaporeans should become entrepreneurs or businessmen.
“It’s a mindset. An attitude of wanting to do better, find break- throughs, of wanting to innovate.
The nurturing has to start from young, in school.
He has looked at the education systems of the United States and Israel, two nations known for innovation and entrepreneurship. What struck him is the informal learning that goes on alongside the formal learning in their schools.
He admits being bothered by the “niggling Pisa question” – why is it that Singapore, despite doing so well in these global tests, does not go on to produce prize-winning scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs? Yet, the US, which is placed much lower than Singapore in such tests, produces world leaders in many fields.
Papa Sam couldn’t help but be amused when read the article. At the Open Day two Friday’s ago, he said his amusement was because of the fact that he had been running these personal viability courses for over 20 years already and trying to hit home to PNG and the world that an academic certificate or degree is not worth much if graduates cannot use their educational qualifications
to create jobs for themselves and others. Most people who come out of colleges and universities are schooled to seek for employment rather than create something that can make money for themselves as well as create jobs for others.
“We have an education system that is making people poor.”
“Why do we travel along the road to make people poor, it doesn’t make sense,” Papa Sam said.
Papa Sam said HDI’s Personal Viability Business Scheme (PVBS) teaches business scheme that’s all about business and developing entrepreneurs.
Human development, he said, has three components.
“Changing mindset, life knowledge and life skills. Without mind development you don’t know how to use resources, knowledge, etc.”
Another problem with PNG schools and institutions was that students relied too much on teachers and lecturers for their learning and once they went out of the school environment, they found it harder to cope because there was no one to guide them and the cycle of reliance on others continued.
Schools, he said, were overly focused on grades and book smarts instead of focusing also on character- building.
“Chalk and board will never develop you.”
“True education is mind development.
This is the secret.”
For those starting out in business, Papa Sam said it was advisable to think big, but start small.
A businessman himself, he said a viable business will only come about if a man or woman is viable and has a strong personal power which is derived from strong physical, mental and spiritual powers.
“Business is about people.’
“Use business to develop you. Just like sport.”
He said the main reason why 90 percent of all businesses fail within the first five years is because people want to start a business with working class knowledge and blaming foreigners who were doing better because they were armed with a business class mindset, business class thinking, and business class knowledge.
Courses at the Human Development Institute will begin on Monday next week with the first batch of students to begin Personal Viability Business Scheme (PVBS) courses. PVBS is all about business and development of entrepreneurs and while it cuts back on theory, there is mainly practical development training.