Straight Talk About...: October 2011

For the last few decades higher education has been presented to the young generation of this country as a "sine qua non" to gain employment within the high tech and the, "so-called", knowledge-based industries. Just in case the message didn't sink in, a materialistic incentive was quickly attached to it. The promise was that those who heeded the former advice would, over a lifetime, earn one million dollars more than their counterparts, who didn't follow this advice. That was enough to convince some, but it still wasn't enough for the educational authorities who were eager to expand their ‘facilities’ and accommodate their potential ‘customers’ at an exponentially increasing price.

Later on, some college and university administrators came up with quotas and target dates. They suggested that within just a few years, 70% of all high school graduates will require a college or an university degree, even for entry-level jobs, and the rest will most likely be cast aside as the new class of unemployable.

Curiously enough, this higher education program doesn't seem to follow the pattern of economy of scale. As the cost of education is rising, the 'market' value of a B.A., B.Sc., etc. degree is going down to the point that an increasing number of employers consider only hiring applicants at the level of M.Sc. and PhD. To add insult to injury, according to OECD data, 18.5% of university grads earn incomes at, or below, half the median income of $37,000 per annum in Canada, — as reported by The Globe and Mail recently.

Since the establishment doesn't seem to be able, or willing, to provide employment for the unemployed masses — in particular the young generation of graduates — it's time to consider a somewhat rarely practiced alternative, the Cooperative Business Model.

The Cooperative Business Model operates very much on the principles of a "partnership", but on a larger scale, and in the interest of efficacy and autonomy it may involve a number of participants of several different, complimentary backgrounds.

There are numerous advantages of this model versus others, namely:

It requires less start up capital;
It is owned and operated jointly by its members;
Its modus operandi is based on cooperation, as opposed to competition;
Its operational costs and proceeds are shared among members of the cooperative.

The Cooperative Business Model is adaptable, able to function proficiently, independently, or jointly with other organizations within any sector of the economy, whether agriculture, art, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining, services, and trade or commerce. As to the question of how a group of graduates should approach the task of setting up a cooperative, very briefly, our recommendation is as follows:

Assemble a small team of three to four compatible, business-minded friends, dedicated to the cooperative principles;
Develop a business plan;
Contact an appropriate professional association, trade association, union, or credit union, and ask for their advice, requesting their mentorship for implementing the business plan;
Seek a moderate amount of financial assistance — "seed money" — potentially from family members, friends and/or credit unions;
Convert the business plan into a pilot project, initially in a home-based setting;
Develop the project into a full-fledged cooperative business and job-creation program;
Reach out to leading cooperatives, countrywide and across the globe, that are involved in green energy production and affordable housing construction related projects, to examine the possibility of participating in joint venture operations.

While it's true that getting involved in a new venture, such as establishing and operating a cooperative business model, is not for the faint-hearted, the risks far outweigh the alternative of:

Not being able to achieve one's dream for a better life;
Earning below poverty-line wages;
Being subjected to the often erroneous actions of some powerful decision-makers, whose collective ineptitude, irresponsibility and greed have led to this ongoing catastrophic situation; and/or even
Accepting the prospects of unemployment.

Working toward and achieving a prosperous future should be worth all the initial hardships.

All considering, since the establishment has for decades expressed its unwillingness to provide equal opportunity for all to achieve an equitable standard of living, it's time to embark on a new business model. It's time to prove to the world that there is life beyond the current profit motivated system. It's time to seriously consider a model that has the built-in capacity to satisfy the needs of the entire population equitably: the Cooperative Business Model.

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