24-hour training available to small businesses

12/5/03
Small businesses in Western Australia will have 24-hour access to training under a plan to develop an online small business training portal.
Education and Training Minister Alan Carpenter said the small business training portal would be developed by the State Training Board in conjunction with the Department of Education and Training.
The portal was one of a number of recommendations in the report Meeting the Training Needs of Small Business in Western Australia, endorsed by the State Government.
"The report includes a range of recommendations to encourage and support small businesses to take part in training," Mr Carpenter said.
"The online portal will make it easier for small businesses to tap into the range of training services already available and will allow some training to actually be delivered online."
The report identified why small businesses, particularly those with fewer than five employees, don't take up training and this includes lack of awareness, lack of time and cost.
"Small businesses continue to participate in training at a much lower rate than their counterparts in mid to large-sized businesses even though there are many training options available," Mr Carpenter said.
"The Government wants to create a training system that contributes to the productivity and success of small businesses because they are so important to our economy."
The report's recommendations included initiatives such as establishing a small business advisory body as part of the State Training Board so the sector can have direct input into training policy development.
"We are also looking at streamlining systems to make it easier for small businesses to take on apprentices and trainees," the Minister said.
"Two of the major priorities for the Government are to increase the number of apprentices and trainees and to support jobs growth."
According to the most recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were close to 126,000 small businesses operating across all industry sectors in WA. This accounts for an estimated 364,000 workers or nearly 50 per cent of total private sector employment.
Of these, micro businesses (those employing fewer than five people) represent 86 per cent of all small businesses, while home based businesses account for 66 per cent of all small businesses in WA.
The report is available at http://www.stb.wa.gov.au
Minister's office: 9213 6800