News and features

Mon, 10 Jan 2011

Running a business training in the north-west

Running a business training has been revealed by the government for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the north-west.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced that under a new scheme, SMEs will get free insured advice for six months as part of a new trial in the area.

Health and safety and employment law will be discussed to make sure that firms meet their responsibilities.

Companies outside of the north-west or that want to continue running a business training after the six-month period may decide to research other courses to check their practices are above board.

Lord Young, the employment relations minister, said the government decided to run the scheme after a report found that SMEs' confidence would be boosted by the knowledge they were doing everything correctly.

The scheme for north-west businesses was revealed in response to the Anderson Review.

Recommendations under this review said that insured advice would allow SMEs to be protected from the potential cost of health and safety and employment disputes.

SMEs were also recently told to make sure they maintain a high level of customer service during the economic downturn.

A report by Cisco found that some firms are putting themselves at risk because they refuse to alter their business practices to take into account changing consumer demands.

David Critchley, head of SME and commercial for Cisco UK and Ireland, said a rewarding year would await those firms that "are taking matters into their own hands and making things better for themselves".

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