Franchise education program signs up 5k participants
It’s a free online program for prospective franchisees.
Griffith University’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence, together with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), developed a Pre-Entry Franchise Education Program.
It is a free, online program that aims to give upcoming franchisees and small business operators an understanding of the realities of franchising and provide practical tips to help them with their business.
The program has five modules and some topics included are:
-An overview of the franchising sector and the Franchise Code of Conduct
- Franchise disclosure, agreements, royalties and finance
-Franchise support services, site and territory selection, retail leasing and franchise marketing funds
− Franchising intellectual property, the operations manual, franchisor-franchisee relationships and dispute resolution
− Questions to ask franchisors and existing and former franchisees, additional due diligence, useful business skills and assessing suitability to become a franchisee.
In addition, a research was also conducted by the university, involving the comparison of experiences of people who took the course and those who had not. The study revealed that those who completed the program had more realistic expectations of franchising performance.
“The program gives franchisees a more thorough overview of franchising, which we feel is a necessity.
“It has certainly raised awareness of the rights and obligations of franchisors and franchisees and we’ve seen an increase in questions around those elements, which is what we wanted. We’re very happy with the program,” said Lesley Dobson, Subway Development Manager (QLD/NT).
Dobson required franchisees who are applying to Subway QLD for the last 18 months to complete the education program.
“The Pre-Entry Franchise Education program has significantly improved the confidence, knowledge and readiness of entrepreneurs who have gone on to operate a franchise. Anyone thinking about buying a franchise should complete the program," added Dr Michael Schaper, ACCC Deputy Chair.
