Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the role his Department can play in improving management skills here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11340/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Management skills are critical to the success of business and to the viability of the more than 200,000 SMEs in Ireland. For this reason my Department and its agencies are already significantly involved in a range of programmes to support management development. The Department, FÁS, Skillnets, Enterprise Ireland and the county enterprise boards all provide support for training and other forms of management development. Funding for in-company training, including management development, increased significantly in 2005 and this level of investment is being maintained in 2006.

These supports include the following features. The FÁS competency development programme saw its allocations increase from €8.5 million in 2004 to €35.6 million per year in 2005 and 2006. About one third of this will be invested in management development. FÁS investment will be matched by contributions from industry. Skillnets Limited also receives funding from my Department to manage a networking programme that involves training for networks of companies. The national training fund investment, which increased to €8.5 million in 2006 — up from €5.175 million in 2004 — will also attract matching funds from the employers. About 35% of this will be invested in management development activities.

Enterprise Ireland and the country enterprise boards offer a range of supports to help client companies identify and build on the current and future management capabilities they need for growth. In addition to supporting management development courses, these industrial development agencies also provide access to mentoring so that clients can access the wide ranging knowledge, connections, experience and advice of expert mentors. Enterprise Ireland has also developed an export development programme aimed at developing the skills of executives in manufacturing or internationally traded service companies so they can win international sales and sustain export growth into the future.

Enterprise Ireland and Skillnets are also managing ESF supported in-company training initiatives on behalf of my Department. Enterprise Ireland is supporting about 20 companies at a cost of about €6 million over three years. The Skillnets initiative, known as the Accel programme, has a public budget in the order of €16 million over the next two years — one third of which will be invested in management skills.

In addition, the expert group on future skill needs has undertaken a study on management skills in SMEs. This will be published shortly and will inform the development of future policy in this area.