Minister for Research & Innovation Sean Sherlock launched a new entrepreneur recruitment campaign.
The programme is aimed at giving individuals the skills needed to run successful companies, which it is hoped will generate employment.
The ''New Frontiers" programme is a six-month intensive course which focuses on giving individuals the entrepreneurial skills needed to set up and run a business.
The course, which was outlined in the Government's Action Plan for Jobs, will be rolled out in 13 Institutes of Technology and is funded by Enterprise Ireland.
250 applicants will be accepted for the first phase of the programme, where their business ideas and capabilities as a potential entrepreneur will be tested.
Of those candidates 150 will qualify for a six-month core element of the course.
Participants will receive €15,000 from Enterprise Ireland as they focus their efforts on developing a sustainable business.
