A report to be published this morning will make a number of recommendations aimed at improving the quality of management at small and medium businesses.
The study, commissioned by the Government-backed Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, found that the existing infrastructure for management training is not sufficiently focused on the real needs of the managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Managers of such companies are more likely to want short courses aimed at specific issues, rather than the sort of standard, formal training courses currently available, according to the report.
A perceived lack of relevance, time pressure and cost are all disincentives for SME managers to engage in formal training, according to the consultants commissioned to carry out the report.
However, McIver Consulting and Tansey, Webster, Stewart, argue against widespread subsidisation of SME management training, but claim there should be some subsidisation aimed at achieving specific policy goals.
These goals include the development of indigenous businesses and the pump-priming of initial training efforts.
Beyond that, the report calls for the establishment of a central point of reference for information on training and support for SMEs in establishing the type of training they need.
There is also a need to identify gaps in the market where demand for SME management training has not been met and provide inducements for the providers of training and education to fill them. The report finds that in general Irish SME managers are not any less skilled or competent that their equivalents in other countries, there are still deficits to be addressed.
The report reiterates an earlier report by the Enterprise Strategy Group, which identified management skills as one of the four fundamentals for Ireland's enterprise development. Its findings will be examined by the Small Business Forum, a group set up by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, to assess the issues facing small and medium-sized businesses.
Set up in 1997, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs is appointed by the Government to advise on education and training to provide the skills required for the enterprise sector. It is chaired by Anne Heraty, chief executive of CPL Resources.
