Private sector companies in Mayo are being encouraged to apply to a new training fund announced this week by Skillnets, the national training and upskilling body. The €500,000 fund is open for applications until April 30.
Groups of companies must join together to form a network to apply for funding. Groups can be formed on a geographical or sectoral basis, once member companies have identified common training needs among their employees.
Networks hoping to receive funding under the new round must complete an online registration form by March 31 before then submitting a complete application by the April deadline.
Skillnets currently funds and facilitates training through 55 networks of companies in a range of sectors and regions. Each network delivers training relevant to the needs of specific industries and member companies. To date, Skillnets has facilitated some 60,000 Irish enterprises to upskill more than 275,000 employees. In addition, the organisation has trained some 9,000 job-seekers since 2010.
Under the fund announced this week, Skillnets will make grants available to new training networks to pilot the delivery of training. Successful applicants will be required to provide matched funding of at least 50 per cent of all costs associated with training delivery.
Alan Nuzum, CEO of Skillnets, said: “With this new funding round, we are placing a particular emphasis on training for industries not fully serviced by the training networks already in operation. We have identified a number of industries that are key to Ireland’s future economic growth, and we will be particularly welcoming of applications from training networks within those industries. These include: agri-food production; ICT; life sciences; manufacturing, electronics and engineering; internationally-traded services; and the green economy.”
Under this round, funding will be provided for training activities from June 1 to December 31. During that period, supports will also be provided for training networks to ensure they can avail of additional funding streams in future years to secure their sustainability. Further information is available from www.skillnets.ie
