European money boost for business training

Businesses across the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area could benefit from a £350,000 funding package granted to the Astral Centre, Lowestoft.

The money will be used to train managers and supervisors in a more sophisticated range of skills to help their firms develop and to tackle a range of topical issues.

Energy efficiency and carbon footprints will be high on the agenda but the training will also extend to project management, personnel development and business improvement techniques.

But before any of the Business First money from the European Social Fund is spent, the Astral Centre will be asking business leaders exactly what training they think will most benefit the future of their firms.

The training sessions could be a mixture of seminars and workshops delivered on or off site and with the option of full courses leading to qualifications.

Managers at the Astral Business and Management Centre at Lowestoft College believe that the flexibility of such tailor-made sessions will make them particularly attractive.

The project also encourages managers to cascade their new-found knowledge and skills on to staff for the wider benefit of the workplace; something which could be supported further by the inclusion of a Training Needs Analysis package.

“We’re delighted with the funding which allows us to move on from the more traditional management training of the last two or three years to look at wider opportunities for development with more sophisticated sessions to help extend business expertise,” said Ron Stainsby, assistant