Address by Noel Treacy, Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce, at the Launch of the Small Business Mentoring and Business Training Programme of Mayo County Enterprise Board at the Newman Institute, Ballina, on Monday 3 April 2000

I am delighted to have been invited here today by the Mayo County Enterprise Board to officially launch their Small Business Mentoring and Business Training Programme.

Mayo County Enterprise Board has, since it was established in 1993, provided an integrated package of support to small and micro enterprises within this County under the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development 1994 - 1999. This has entailed the allocation of Capital, Employment and Feasibility Study grants, as well as the provision of business support, mentoring, advice, training and management development.

In the period up to December 1999 the Mayo Enterprise Board approved grants of almost £3.5 million to 351 small or micro enterprises throughout this County. In the same period, 584 full-time and 206 part-time jobs have been created in various enterprises supported by the Mayo Board. Some of these businesses are still expanding, and their ultimate contribution to local employment will be even greater than this. Indeed, the achievements of all of the 35 Enterprise Boards nationally have made a major impact on small business creation, and have demonstrated their capacity to add real value to local economic development.

A more remarkable feature of the projects supported by the Mayo Enterprise Board has been the very low level of failure. At between 5% and 6% the level of failure is well below what would be considered normal for small businesses such as these. While the generally positive economic environment which this Government has created has been a significant factor in this success, an important contribution has also been the extensive range and quality of the soft supports that have been provided to these enterprises by the County Enterprise Board.

New small businesses are vulnerable at the start up stage. The focus of the Enterprise Boards on projects at this critical stage of their development has been one of its key success ingredients.

The participation by owner managers and promoters of small enterprises within County Mayo on soft support programmes delivered by the Mayo Enterprise Board has been remarkable. No less than 753 individuals, who are either in business, or want to be in business for themselves, have availed of one or other of the various Soft Supports services provided by the Enterprise Board. A separate programme has been developed to address the question of enterprise development in schools.

I know that the Mayo Enterprise Board has, since its inception, adopted a policy of providing training as close as possible to the home base of its client group, in any location in this county where sufficient demand exists.

Business skills training programmes have, for example, already been delivered to-date in locations as diverse as Achill, Ballycroy, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Charlestown, Claremorris and Kiltimagh. They are also organised on an ongoing basis in the major urban centres of Ballina, Castlebar and Westport. These programmes are delivered on a modular basis by business consultants specialising in this area of activity and are delivered outside normal working hours to facilitate maximum participation.

To date a total of 319 people have participated in these business skills training programmes and a further 58 individuals are in fact currently involved in on-going training programmes which are being run in Ballina, Castlebar, and Knock.

While basic business skills training forms a core element of the enterprise training approach of the Mayo Enterprise Board, other important related areas of business development are not ignored. For example, a further 296 entrepreneurs have received support in other more specialised business development areas such as marketing, financial management and the management of human resources. Specialist training programmes under these headings are also delivered on an on going basis. In addition the Mayo Board provides one-to-one advice and support in appropriate circumstances.

Extensive management development training and support has also been provided to a total of 138 owner managers of micro enterprises within this County, funded out of the European Social Fund. These more comprehensive management development training programmes usually involve an extended training period, typically of 200 training hours per participant or more.

Although the Mayo Enterprise Board has already achieved significantly positive results from its various business training and development initiatives, it is not content to rest on its laurels. In keeping with the information age in which we now live, the Mayo County Enterprise Board is now launching a new highly innovative initiative to provide business training and support to small business owners "via the Internet". This service is possible through an arrangement with MANAGEMENT DIRECT.COM whereby clients of the Mayo Board can use a specially designed interactive Website to avail of business training.

The site allows for a number of different approaches to business development training, for example;

Support For Start-Up Enterprises: will be provided via access to mentors experienced in providing advice in relation to the needs of small businesses. It will provide a business plan template, as well as advice about raising finance from banks and elsewhere. The client will also be able to submit their business plan for assessment and guidance.

Financial Guidance: will be provided via on-line cashflow spreadsheets that can be completed with on-line assistance, from the relevant mentor.

Human Resource Management: will be addressed with information on staff recruitment, induction, performance appraisal and all aspects of employment legislation impacting on small businesses.

Developing E-Business Opportunities: will be addressed by dealing with issues such as Website design, search engine optimisation and site maintenance and management.

The Internet is recognised as a fundamental element of growth in business and community development today and has changed forever the way that a huge range of businesses now perceives customers. Companies, large and small, are no longer restricted by physical boundaries or the complexity of establishing outlets for their product in far-flung places. They no longer have to rely so heavily on costly agents or distributors to develop markets in different countries. Instead, they can promote their goods or services internationally by harnessing the power of the Internet to deliver powerful, global advertising. The process is taken to its logical conclusion through direct sales and payment transactions in a wide variety of retail and service businesses.

Not surprisingly, Internet marketing and e-commerce trading are most advanced in the United States where companies are now using them routinely to improve their competitive edge and increase their customer base. Ireland is not lagging behind, however. In a country exposed for two decades to world-class software industries, there has been rapid and willing acceptance of the Internet and its potential for a range of services - in business, education, and training. You only have to scan the business and technology pages every day to read about imaginative and innovative Web sites being developed by companies and individuals all around the country.

The Mayo County Enterprise Board must be congratulated on providing business mentoring and training over the Internet. In the past we have heard much talk about problems associated with peripherality. The advent of the information age will do much to change that. The Mayo Enterprise Board, in taking this initiative, are not simply going to provide essential business training to its clients. They are doing much more besides. They are sending out a clear message that the information age has arrived and that Mayo will face it with confidence, and a renewed commitment to utilise the new technologies in a pro active and positive way for the betterment of its people.

Management Development Programmes provide an integrated approach incorporating a range of enterprise support services to owners of small businesses. These programmes aim to offer a systematic process to support micro enterprise development by providing the right combination of support with a view to promoting business success. In conclusion, I would like to again congratulate the Mayo Enterprise Board for taking a new approach to helping new businesses develop and grow by the provision of this innovative programme.