Send Print Tweet

Conference
14 December 2012
Small and Medium Size Enterprises Development Organisation, Ankara, Turkey

Jointly organised by KOSGEB (the Small and Medium Size Enterprises Development Organisation) and
the OECD LEED Programme

Why attend / Who should attend / Where / Contact

Why attend

Innovation in skills development provides new ways of talent development for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While SMEs are crucial for economic development, employment and job creation they face continuing barriers to developing their human resources. Training & skills development is significantly lower in SMEs than in large enterprises – with SMEs involved in up to 50% less training than larger firms. The pool of SME workers requiring further education and training is significant. However, SMEs often find it difficult to support formal learning activities due to their small size.

This conference presented the results of a project on Leveraging Training and Skills Development in SMES. The study examines access to training by SMEs across seven regions in six OECD countries. The seven regions participating in the project are East Flanders (Belgium), the industrial zone OSTIM in Ankara (Turkey), Canterbury (New Zealand), the Zaglebie sub-region (Poland), the West Midlands region (United Kingdom), and Quebec and Manitoba in Canada. The project contributed to the OECD Skills Strategy.

Key policy and research issues addressed at the conference included:

• SMEs use both formal and informal training but they get better outcomes from informal training through use of knowledge intensive service activities (KISA). Significant variations exist across regions and employee skill levels.
• Training for highly skilled employees focused on productivity-enhancing skills (e.g. technical and management skills, entrepreneurship), and, to the extent that they are undertaken at all, green skills. This applies to both manufacturing and service firms.
• Market forces are the main drivers for skills development in firms, particularly informal skills development. They result from in-house demands arising from product development or production needs, or as the result of financial adjustments.
• “Growth potential” SMEs are most likely to take up opportunities in the green economy. Highly innovative firms are more likely to participate in innovative activity for the “green” economy, and also have a stronger focus on entrepreneurial skills.

Download the agenda.

Who should attend

• Representatives from stakeholders in the area: policy-makers, public institutions, private organizations, business representatives, SMEs, social partners (Trade Unions), non-government organizations, universities, training providers, and regional clusters and networks.
• Representatives from firms, particularly those with responsibility for human resources and innovation.
• Training, skills and employment development experts from local organisations and industry.
• Academics and experts on training, skills development, human capital development, local development, private sector development and local governance.

Where

Small and Medium Size Enterprises Development Organisation (KOSGEB), Ankara, Turkey.

Contact

For further information about the OECD LEED project, please contact Cristina Martinez-Fernandez at the OECD Secretariat.

Related Documents

LEED Project - Leveraging training: skills development in SMEs