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A NATIONWIDE PROGRAMME to help the owners and managers of small businesses has been launched by Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton.
Based on a “successful” pilot programme, the Accelerate training scheme aims to teach Irish entrepreneurs the skills they need to grow their businesses.
It will form part of the training offered by local enterprise boards at a city and county level. Some 27,103 small business managers received training from enterprise boards last year – an increase of more than 3,300 on the 2010 figure, Bruton said this morning.
Speaking at the launch, he added:
Irish businesses are central to our plan for jobs and growth. If we are to create the jobs we need, we must create a powerful engine of indigenous business, and that is why the Action Plan for Jobs focuses on a range of improved supports for Irish businesses.
He added that the Accelerate programme would deliver “practical supports” on how to improve a small business.
The six- to nine-month scheme, which the Government has said is based on international best practice, includes modules called “Finding and Keeping Customers”; “Managing the Money; and “Why am I in business?”
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He could start looking after small business by having a word with Joan burton. She wants to increase employers PRSI. This would be hugely detrimental to struggling small enterprises. Staff are hanging on by threads. Employers are doing everything they can to keep staff on. But if the employers PRSI should rise I see many small businesses being unable to grow and indeed having to let staff go to.
That along with wanting to increase self employed PRSI rates (she mentioned this a few months ago). Already self employed pay more income tax as they do not receive the PAYE tax credit so in reality they are paying income tax at circa €8K compared to there staff at €16K but yet are expected to be tax collectors for the state for free.
Isn’t that an EU stipulation behind that.
How many initiatives is this FG & Lab have introduced now for “practical supports” for SMEs? Every week Bruton is launching a jobs initiative, business initiative or something – which usually just runs as far as a govt quango website with absolutely no financial or training support. What SMEs need are reduced operating costs – PRSI, fuel, lower utility and rates costs, lower import tarriffs etc. They are trying to mae themselves look busy and productive, in the absence of working ideas and job creation.
They should be looking at getting the cost of government under control first and foremost before they cripple both the business and general community with more taxes.nnIt’s becoming more apparent that all our politicians no matter what hue or leaning they have are living in a different reality to the rest of us.
What happened to reducing rates for existing business’s , how about trying to keep the jobs we have first
well said celtic lady but we also need the domestic econmy to be fixed to ensure people can spend in these buissnesses
There will be no recovery without SME’s growing. Anything else is only fantasy economics, Multi Nationals are great but 90% of businesses here are SME’s, they provide the over whelming majority of employment.
Look at Pharma, a 36bn industry here, worth 9bn to the state economy in retained profits. Look at Agri/Food sector a 29bn sector but which has 20 bn in retained profits and impact on state economy.
There is a risk of making Multi Nationals the new construction sector. They are important but they will never be the bedrock of the economy, and a functional society and economy depends on the Govt. knowing that.
Minister Bruton is making too little progress addressing the unemployment level. He should consider his position. He is in his post for more than a year and his team has yet to score. Give someone else a go.
I think this is the fifth jobs initiative announced by Bruton. One every two to three months seems to be required for PR purposes. Pity Michael O’Leary isn’t running that department.
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