Introduction IRL Conference 05052017 MICRO Enhancing Competitiveness of

Introduction: IRL Conference 05/05/2017 MICRO: Enhancing Competitiveness of Micro-enterprises in Rural Areas Michael Kenny (Irish Rural Link Board Member) & Siobhan O’Malley, Dept. of Adult & Community Education, Maynooth University MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Seamus Boland says … “The Solutions have to include developing more micro-enterprises in the rural regions. ” Source Cian Mathew Kearns ‘Rural Neglect Vs Potential’ Changing Ireland Winter 2016 -17 MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Seamus Boland says … “Collectively small businesses are the largest employment providers in rural Ireland. More growth in enterprises means more local jobs and more sustainable rural communities. ” Source Cian Mathew Kearns ‘Rural Neglect Vs Potential’ Changing Ireland Winter 2016 -17 MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Partners MICRO brings together experienced partners from 6 countries (Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia and Spain) coordinated by Irish Rural Link (IE), with extensive experience in EU-funded projects MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

MICRO Policy Foundation Gaps and needs identified by EU policy/research papers: • “Identification of Future Skills Needs in Micro-Craft-Type Enterprises up to 2020” (EC DG Enterprise, 2013) • “Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan-Reigniting Entrepreneurial Spirit in EU” (EC DG Enterprise, 2013) MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

VET Foundation • MICRO is fully in line with “New skills and jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment”, EC 2012 • MICRO addresses the specific priorities in the EU paper "VET for better skills growth and jobs“ and “Continuing education and training in rural areas” EC 2015 MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Sector Foundation MICRO addresses capacity and training needs of micro enterprises in rural areas across EU to sustain their competitiveness for enhanced growth and employment. About 99% of all EU firms are SMEs; of those 90% are microenterprises accounting for 53% of all jobs in EU (DG Enterprise, 2013). MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Issues 1. Defining Micro-enterprise, Craft-enterprise, etc 2. Mining the data needed 3. Enterprising culture rather than ‘the entrepreneur’ 4. Educating for enterprise/Community education MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Q: Help your enterprise grow and become more competitive • - Marketing/promotion & E-commerce - 55 respondents • - Business planning, budgeting, management skills – 50 “ • - Financial Management in micro enterprise – 44 “ • - EU programme awareness/grants – 38 “ MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Q. What would help … 1. Clustering for similar types of sectors/industries/companies 2. Focused, specific, and timely 3. Provide online/webinar to obviate distance/location factors 4. Direct contact micro-enterprise owners to establish training needs specific to their business MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The Dragon wants a learner • Don’t see any risks…!, How many weddings in Ireland? , How much do you spend on IT? • Who is Kathy Hyde, Kathy Ireland, Barbara Brown Taylor, Catherine Cunningham? MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

4 Tasks over 2 years MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http: //www. microsmetraining. eu/ (In 5 languages) MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Output MICRO will pilot innovative content to provide practical knowledge, skills and competencies to the target groups - nonformal training targeted at improving entrepreneurship and enhancing competitiveness and business opportunities for micro and craft-type enterprises MICRO has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document and its contents reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Thank you for your attention Email Michael. Kenny@nuim. ie, Siobhan. OMalley@nuim. ie Subject line: MICRO Query Michael Kenny & Siobhan O’Malley, Maynooth University