Training help for small and medium-sized businesses

27 January 2009

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Training is particularly important for business growth. It can help to meet short term economic challenges, skills shortages, and can potentially help businesses to emerge stronger from the downturn, well placed to take advantage of new opportunities. As part of a new package of support, the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) is prioritising financial support for training in small and medium-sized businesses, which are particularly vulnerable in the economic downturn.

The DIUS has announced that it has relaxed the rules for smaller businesses to access training and tailored its schemes to meet the needs of different sectors. This is part of a Government plan to increase spending on Train to Gain over the next two years, together with a new SME package for employers with fewer than 250 employees.

To meet the specific needs of different sectors, DIUS have worked in partnership with Sector Skills Councils to make the Train to Gain offer more flexible and tailored to SMEs. The new SME package means that on top of their core offer available to all employers, those with fewer than 250 employees can also now access the following:

Smaller, focused training programmes in subjects demanded by businesses including: business improvement, business systems/processes, team working/communications, sales and marketing, IT users, IT support, customer service, new product design, finance and credit, cash flow and profit management, and risk management.
Fully funded Level 2 qualifications and subsidised Level 3 qualifications, regardless of whether the employee already has a qualification at this level.
Funding for leadership and management training extended to businesses with 5-10 employees.
In addition, businesses with less than 50 employees can still receive a contribution to wage costs to cover the cost of time off to train.

There will also be help for groups of SMEs located together in business parks so that they can increase their purchasing power and share resources to support the training of staff.

To help with cash-flow, your business will be payed within 10 days.

For more information visit Train to Gain or call 0800 015 55 45.

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Training help for small and medium-sized businesses

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