Corporate Magazine - 2013, June (PDF) - Invest Northern Ireland

Investin June 2013 09Focus on SkillsSuccess ThroughSkills ImprovementIncreasing business productivity is a key government aim. Since one of the areas thatimpacts most on productivity is employee skills, Invest NI has put in place new supportmechanisms to strengthen and streamline its support for training skills development.The Skills Growth Programme, launchedearlier this year, builds on our previoussupport for training (the BusinessImprovement Training Programme).It provides discretionary financial supportfor training activities that focus on higherskills with an emphasis on externallyvalidated training.Our focus tends to be on fourspecific areas of training:• leadership, management andsupervisory skills;• training on equipment use;• communication skills, timemanagement, team development,presentation skills and projectmanagement; and• human resources skills, sales andmarketing skills and finance training.The Skills Growth Programme supportsinternal and external training costs.We have also created a new SkillsAccelerator Grant specifically forsmall enterprises. This scheme willonly be available to small companiesthat operate in manufacturing andinternationally tradable services andwhich currently export or are ready to>> Pictured at an event in Newry wherelocal businesses had an opportunityto learn more about the Skills Growthinitiatives are Maureen Kearney, MJMMarine Ltd, Newry and Niall Casey, InvestNI’s Director of Skills and Strategy.begin exporting. The scheme will providefunding of 50% of eligible costs up toa maximum grant of £10,000. Eligiblecosts will be external costs such astrainers, travel and accommodation.LeadershipWe have also developed a specificinitiative to help develop leadershipskills. Called the Leadership Experience,it aims to improve the productivity ofcompanies through the development oftheir managers.The programme is designed to helpbusiness leaders implement real changein their business, to overcome barriersto effective business performance and toequip them with the skills and resourcesto deal with challenges as they arise.In designing the programme we focusedon the dual aspects of developing theindividual and developing networks thatwill provide ongoing peer support.The programme is a mixture of individualcoaching and networking, both of whichoffer the opportunity for participantsto learn from the experiences ofother managing directors and ownermanagers,from experts and to sharetheir own experience.For more information about support forskills development please call0800 181 4422 or speak to yourClient Executive.Steve Allen is ManagingDirector of RP Group, whichis based in Belfast’s DuncrueIndustrial Estate.The company is a manufacturer ofhydraulic hose assemblies and alsodistributes engineering products andprovides related specialist services.Steve took part on the first LeaderProgramme. He had this to say:I participated in the inaugural Leader Programme primarilyso I could be a better leader and feel more fulfilment inmy leadership role within my company. I believe that bothof those goals have been achieved. This is only the firststep on a continuous journey, as the needs of both theorganisation and myself change over time. The combinationof peer group learning and encouragement of both mymentor and coach made for a well balanced programme.I particularly benefited from the opportunity todiscuss issues in a confidential manner with mycoach and to develop a focused approach todealing with these within agreed timeframes.