Local businesses are encouraged to invest in the skills development of their workforce to gain a competitive edge
Delivered by the six further education colleges, InnovateUs and Skills Focus are just two of the Department for the Economy’s (DfE) skills programmes on offer to support business development.
InnovateUs, fully funded by DfE, is a programme to help small businesses, with fewer than 50 employees, to develop innovative products, processes and services.
Skills Focus provides 75 per cent funding to upskill the existing workforce with accredited qualifications at level 2 and above, in companies of fewer than 250 employees.
Download further information on InnovateUs and Skills Focus (PDF, 327K).
How local businesses have benefited from the skills programmes
A series of videos highlighting successful collaborations between further education colleges and local businesses through Skills Focus and InnovateUs are available online:
- South West College – Skills Focus – JMG, Omagh
- Belfast Met – InnovateUs – Study Buddy, Belfast
- South East Regional College – Skills Focus – Little Electrical, Lurgan
- North West Regional College – InnovateUs – Cinchortho, Coleraine
- Northern Regional College – Skills Focus – Survival School, Ballymena
- Southern Regional College – InnovateUs – Crawford’s Rock, Kilkeel
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