News Item

IS YOUR BUSINESS SKILLED FOR GROWTH?

March 9, 2011

Small to medium businesses across Gippsland are being encouraged to utilise a new Victorian Government program which provides an independent specialist at no cost to help them plan for growth and increase staff skills across the business.

Education Centre Gippsland (ECG) has been awarded a contract to deliver the ‘Skills for Growth’ program to businesses across west, south, central and east Gippsland as well as Pakenham corridor and Yarra Ranges.

ECG Manager, Jeff Tellefson, said the program represented a substantial opportunity for small businesses to increase their competitive edge and profitability.

“ECG has appointed business specialist Glenn Brooks to provide confidential, free on-site visits to help operators explore the strategic direction of their business, and identify training opportunities for staff.

“Business can obtain an independent, free skills analysis for the entire business to give them a clear understanding of their staff skills, qualifications and experience and link those to job roles and training to advance the business.”

Mr Tellefson said while many small businesses recognise the value of training staff in improving the quality of their products or services and in retaining staff, they often don’t know what training their staff need that will benefit the growth of their business. There are also significant training subsidies available they may not be aware of.

“The Skills for Growth program provides one-on-one consultation to help businesses develop a workplace training plan and action plan and to forecast future skills needs. They also receive assistance to place staff into accredited training.

“Eligible businesses can take part in the program at no cost. The cost of accredited training will be the responsibility of the business, however in many cases this cost will be subsidised by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Training Guarantee.

Mr Tellefson said response to the program had been positive with a number of employers registering.

To be eligible, a business needs to be Victorian-based, employ between 1 and 200 people, and have been operating for at least 12 months.

For more information on the Victorian Government Skills for Growth program visit: www.skills.vic.gov.au/skillsforgrowth

For further information contact:

Jeff Tellefson
Deputy CEO
Community College Gippsland
Ph: 5622 6000