A group of trainees attending the Core Skills Programme.
DOHA: Enterprise Qatar (EQ), an arm of the Ministry of Business and Trade, has launched a training programme ‘Core Skills Programme’ to master essential business skills among entrepreneurs and managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Qatar, said a press statement yesterday.
The programme, which is heavily subsidised by EQ, allows SME owners and managers to access professional advisory services hitherto beyond their financial capabilities. EQ has committed to subsidise up to 70 percent of the costs and has partnered with leading international training firms and educational institutions to deliver the training.
Noora Al Mannai, CEO of Enterprise Qatar, said that the ‘Core Skills Programme’ is a ground breaking effort to raise the ability of SMEs in Qatar to improve their services and operations, compete more effectively and thus achieve higher profitability rates. “EQ works closely with Qatari SMEs to provide them with a range of support services to help them succeed through providing a series of specialised training courses. SMEs have fewer resources to build their teams’ skills, and lack of trained personnel hinders them from landing more business, in addition to high turnover rates.
“Specialised training programmes are among the most important factors to build internal capacity and thus increase productivity levels. Local companies are usually faced with challenges such as lack of specialised trainings or the relatively high costs of such programmes and thus can’t afford to provide their management teams with the necessary training they need, unlike established companies and internationals corporations,” she added.
Al Mannai also added: “The programme addresses this need, and will have an immediate impact on the companies that participate. This will be the first time that many SMEs will be able to afford expert training and I encourage all owners and managers to take advantage of this opportunity”.
It has been developed using EQ’s knowledge of the Qatari SME market and its needs to include four specialised courses. These include time management, finance for non-financial, customer service and marketing strategy.
The first course, on time management, took place on the May 21 at the College of the North Atlantic, Qatar (CNAQ). Other courses will take place over the coming month and will conclude on June 12.
SME owners and managers interested in enrolling are encouraged to visit the EQ website where course description and other details can be found: http://www.eq.gov.qa Courses will be conducted in English at CNAQ.
The Peninsula
