SME Productivity Booster
The SME Productivity Booster initiative provides a road map for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Northern Ireland towards increased productivity whilst delivering the skills that will see them achieve this goal. It aids in the development of better working practices, increased competitiveness, and economic growth.
How does SME Productivity Booster work?
The SME Productivity Booster programme is delivered in partnership with the six Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland and consists of four key stages.
Stage one | Health check
Each SME taking part will have an initial eligibility check followed by a detailed productivity health check, carried out by an experienced specialist from the college. This health check will examine the levels of productivity and/or sustainability within the business, and the appetite to increase it.
It will provide the SME with the standard of their current productivity and sustainability levels and examine some of the immediate interventions that can be undertaken through the programme to help on the journey to developing these areas.
Stage two | Training
Following the completion of the health check, SMEs may be signposted to existing training provisions as required such as leadership and management, business improvement techniques training under Skills Focus / Skill Up, and other suitable accredited courses.
This second phase also provides up to 30 hours of tailored mentoring support across a variety of topical areas, including:
- productivity/sustainability thinking (ideation stage)
- process improvement / lean processes
- strategy development
- project planning
- communication
- automation
- raising finance
- cost and waste reduction and efficiencies
- sustainability
Other areas of importance may also be covered within the 30 hours.
Stage three | Productivity road map
The third stage includes the creation of a productivity road map with clear actions and SMART objectives to help SMEs implement plans to increase productivity levels within their business.
The college’s technical staff mentors and supports the employers through the development of the roadmap, which businesses will use to help put measures in place to start tackling their productivity issues.
Stage four | Evaluation and impact report
The final stage is conducted six months following the intervention. It seeks to measure the real impact of the programme on productivity levels and to establish the success of the skills development with regards to measuring and improving productivity levels. At this stage, further signposting will also take place to relevant supports.
Who is eligible?
SMEs that meet the following criteria are eligible to take part in the SME Productivity Booster:
- less than 250 employees
- based in Northern Ireland
- any member of staff undertaking the training and support should be based in Northern Ireland
The SME must also operate within one of the following priority sectors to be eligible:
- agri-tech
- life and health sciences
- advanced manufacturing and engineering
- fintech / financial services
- software (including cyber)
- screen industries
- low carbon
- hospitality
- healthcare
Further information
Further information on the SME Productivity Booster initiative can be found by contacting your nearest Further Education College at the following email addresses:
- Belfast Metropolitan College - businessdevelopment@belfastmet.ac.uk
- Northern Regional College - alan.reid@nrc.ac.uk
- North West Regional College - catherine.o'donnell@nwrc.ac.uk
- South Eastern Regional College - businessservices@serc.ac.uk
- Southern Regional College - betterbusiness@src.ac.uk
- South West College - nicola.quinn@swc.ac.uk