£350,000 Boost For SME Productivity

Economy Minister Conor Murphy has announced a new £350,000 initiative to boost productivity and skills in small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

The SME Productivity Booster aims to help over 70 businesses across Northern Ireland by providing them with the skills and knowledge they need to improve their productivity and competitiveness.

Increasing productivity is one of the Minister's key priorities for the Northern Ireland economy.

Speaking after a visit to Southern Regional College's Newry Campus, the Minister said: "According to recent research, output per worker in the north of Ireland is 11% lower than in Britain and almost 40% lower than in the south of Ireland.

"The SME Productivity Booster, which represents an investment of £350,000 by my Department as part of the wider Skills Fund, seeks to address this gap by providing targeted upskilling to SMEs operating in key economic areas such as fintech, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.

"The Department has already delivered two successful pilots of this initiative and I would encourage SMEs to visit nibusinessinfo to find out how they can benefit from this funded support." Mel Higgins, Principal and CEO of Northern Regional College and chair of the Further Education Principals' Group, said: "As Chair of the Further Education Principals' Group, I am pleased to see the launch of this initiative which will further strengthen ties between the further education sector and local employers whilst increasing productivity levels across the region. Upskilling the workforce through our local college networks is key to unlocking the potential in businesses and paving the way for economic growth."

James O'Neill, Head of Sales at Portadown company Rathbanna Ltd, which availed of support from SRC during the pilot phase, added:

"The support we accessed from SRC through this programme was invaluable, enabling us to establish a business improvement team that identified inefficiencies and implemented new strategies to enhance productivity and reduce waste."

The SME Productivity Booster programme is delivered in partnership with the six further education colleges across Northern Ireland. Companies begin with an initial productivity 'health check', which identifies key areas in which staff will be trained such as leadership, business improvement and lean processes. A productivity roadmap is then developed to help SMEs implement plans to increase productivity levels within their business.