The Mays Business School at Texas A&M University is accepting applications for a free entrepreneurship training program for disabled, post-Sept. 11 veterans.

The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities is expected to teach veterans injured in the line of duty since 2001 how to start and manage their own businesses, organizers said. Texas A&M will offer its segment of the program in June, through a consortium with Syracuse University, UCLA and Florida State University.

"A lot of the employment opportunities for veterans are not as good, quite often, as they are for non-veterans," said Richard Lester, a clinical associate professor in the Mays Business School. "If you're disabled, you have a second handicap, so to speak."

Lester said the average age of most post-Sept. 11 veterans is 25, and many haven't had the chance to start a career.

Syracuse University ran the training program with about 20 students in the summer of 2007. Lester said the success of the program, allowed Syracuse the opportunity to expand it.

Each university in the consortium is aiming to capture students in its immediate geographical region, he said. The Mays Business School, which is funding its program through donations, is capping enrollment at 25, Lester said. For participating veterans, the program will be completely free, including travel and accommodations.

The Mays Business School will offer the program in three phases. First is a self-study session in which the veterans complete courses through online discussions moderated by university faculty. In phase two, the veterans will travel to the participating universities for a nine-day residency.

The Mays Business School will hold its residency program in August, where it will teach the veterans to develop their own business concepts and understand the basic elements of small business management.

Phase three involves 12 months of ongoing support and mentorship from faculty experts at the universities.

Veterans can access http://whitman.syr.edu/ebv/apply.asp to apply. For information, contact Richard Lester at 862-7091.

• Holli L. Estridge's e-mail address is holli.estridge@theeagle.com.

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