As part of the Government’s response to the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation through its agency Enterprise Ireland conducted a recent survey that has revealed, of the companies that have availed of Enterprise Ireland’s Covid-19 Lean Business Continuity voucher so far, more than 90% have identified a need to upskill some existing staff, with one third believing all staff will require upskilling to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic
The Lean Business Continuity Voucher, which is available to SMEs employing 10 or more in the manufacturing or internationally traded service sectors, allows them to access up to €2,500 in training or advisory services support related to the continued operation of their businesses during the current pandemic.
The results from a survey of 50 Lean consultants from all around the country also found high levels of compliance with back-to-work protocols and adherence to social distancing measures, with 96% of companies observed as complying with the Government’s guidelines.
The voucher allows companies to access external independent experts and the top three areas where their advice is valued were:
1. the business strategy in light of changing marketplace/supply chains and customer needs
2. changes to the physical layout of operations and
3. process re-engineering.
Other areas included, advice on developing a new business model, advice to comply with physical distancing and hygiene issues and people management issues.
Almost 60% of the companies approved for the voucher are in the Industrial, Lifesciences and Consumer sector while just over a quarter of approvals (26%) are in ICT and International Services.
The Lean Business Continuity Voucher can be applied for online with approval time averaging at less than 48 hours.
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