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ST. CROIX — To assist young people in discovering methods on how to start and grow a business at an early age, the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority (VIEDA) announced on Friday via press release that it’s partnering with the Small Business Camp to present the Young CEO Camp on St. Croix.

This five-day summer training program will be held from Monday, July 6, 2015 to Friday, July 10, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital & Medical Center in the Cardiac Center Conference Room. Space is limited and the application deadline is Wednesday, July 1, 2015.

Sponsored by the United States Department of Commerce and VIEDA, the Young CEO Camp is free to all participants. The camp is specially designed for young people ages 13-22 to help them learn how to transform their ideas into a for-profit or non-profit business. Camp participants will be able to join the camp in person or online and learn how to select a business that provides a service or product that can be sold during the summer. To qualify, the teens and young adults must apply by writing a brief 100-word essay about why they should attend the free training program.

“The VIEDA’s incubator program embraces this opportunity to partner with Small Business Camp to provide our young people with the necessary tools and lessons that can inspire and empower our next generation of leaders to become business owners in our community,” VIEDA Acting Chief Executive Officer Wayne L. Biggs, Jr. said.

“For students not living on St. Croix, these individuals can join [the camp] from the comfort of their homes by viewing the “live” web video broadcast of the camp each day and can interact with the instructor and fellow participants via online messaging,” said Andrew Morrison, president of Small Business Camp and the instructor of Young CEO Camp. “Young CEO Camp is leading the way in providing online instruction for our local youths and training them for entrepreneurship in the world of e-commerce,” he added.

Interested persons may register here.

In May 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for teens ages 16-19 was 17.9 percent. For young adults ages 20-24, this rate is 10.1 percent.

Feature Image Credit: Natalie Keyssar.