BUSINESSES in the Mid West have been able to maintain their edge through keeping themselves up-to-date and enabling their employees to gain new skills and qualifications.
In the two years since setting up a Skillnet, Shannon Chamber has offered 64 training courses to over 500 employees in 216 of its member companies.
Heading in to year three, the Chamber is now asking member companies to be proactive in assessing their training requirements for the next 12 months.
Each member is being asked to complete an online training needs analysis (TNA) which currently offers a menu of 50 training options covering soft skills such as time management, personal effectiveness, influencing and negotiating skills and also includes a range of training options in operational excellence and computer skills’ disciplines.
Specific training requirements can also be suggested as part of the survey.
Calling on companies to set aside adequate time to complete the survey, Shannon Chamber chief executive Helen Downes said: “Skillnets training is free for employees. Fees are paid by employers and Skillnets so it’s an ideal mechanism for companies to source training that is of a very high quality.
“The fact that employers get an opportunity like this to request the training they need is so beneficial. It means they are giving their staff the opportunity to assimilate new knowledge that will offer payback to their companies in so many ways.
“As highlighted recently in a presentation given by Willis Towers Watson on the employee value proposition, many people today evaluate companies on the opportunities they offer to employees to upskill and take on new learning. Companies who have already availed of training through Shannon Chamber Skillnet have said that is has been uniquely effective in attracting new staff and has made their staff more valuable as they are becoming multi-skilled and are upskilling all the time.
Ms Downes urged that member companies complete the analysis to allow the Chamber deliver the exact training needs for 2018.
Shannon Chamber Skillnet is funded by member companies and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets, funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Education.
The Skillnet model is enterprise led and the basis of Shannon Chamber Skillnet’s 2018 application is based on feedback and requests for training from member companies. The success of this application and the amount of funding approved is guided and determined by the training needs of a specific network.
The Training Needs Analysis (TNA) survey can be completed by clicking here
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