Small business owners offered chance to sharpen skills | Business News | News - Expertise in Open Source Business Development

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Small business owners offered chance to sharpen skills

Small business managers are being urged to take advantage of a huge expansion of government funded training in order to improve their leadership skills and boost their competitiveness.

The call came from John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

The financial backing, which is to rise from £4 million to £30 million annually, comes on stream later in the New Year and provides funding for tailor-made management and leadership training through the government’s Train to Gain scheme.

The training will give employers access to an impartial and independent skills broker to help them identify their basic or higher level skills needs.

Training can be sourced from local education institutions and publicly or privately funded training providers. This could mean a formal certified training programme or, for others, a coach or mentor to help businesses improve the way they manage staff.

Mr Denham said: “Small business managers are the backbone of our economy, making an immense contribution to innovation, boosting regional competitiveness and bringing opportunity and enterprise to local communities.

“To really succeed in an increasingly competitive climate, every small business manager needs to get the best from their employees. Despite the time pressures they face, no small business manager can afford to cut corners on training - either for their employees, or themselves.”

Mr Denham added: “This is why I have made the provision of leadership and management training, tailored to the individual needs of each business, a priority for 2008.”

The increases in funding for management training for SMEs will support managers in around 42,000 companies over the next three years.

David Lammy, the Skills Minister, commented: “Services aimed at small businesses only work if they are flexible enough to be used when and where employers want them. In expanding Train to Gain, we’ve listened closely to the business community to ensure we've met their needs - in particular in designing the enhanced management training service.

“I hope that employers will respond by making full use of the opportunity to improve their staff leadership credentials, and to get their staff trained up to deliver real growth in 2008.”

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