The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O'Keeffe TD, launches a Government plan to place 50 'top-level' college graduates in export-led Irish firms with (l-r) Frank Roche of UCD, Frank Ryan of Enterprise Ireland and graduate Niamh Roddy, Aug 30, 2010.

The latest Monday morning initiative from Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe TD, is a €1.4m pilot management training fund for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) aimed at driving productivity and improving workplace skills. Meanwhile, O'Keeffe's junior minister Billy Kelleher TD, today leads 30 'top' Irish firms on a week-long trade mission to Russia.

The training move comes on foot of Forfás research for the Management Development Council, published in March, which identified areas for improvement in management practice among SMEs. O’Keeffe said he was initially investing €1.4m to get the pilot fund up and running this year.

"The plan is to develop seven regional management development networks this year - - -two in Dublin, and one each in the west, south-west, midlands, north-west and south-east. The pilot initiative is an important test-bed for the impact of management training on the performance of firms. Research shows that improving management capability in SMEs through this type of training can lead to significant returns in terms of increased value added, employment, better business survival rates and a more skilled workforce," he said.

McKinsey and Company estimates that bringing the poorest performing firms in Ireland up to average levels of management skills could be worth between €500m and €2.5bn in terms of increased gross value added in the manufacturing sector alone.

The range of the estimate renders it meaningless.

O'Keefe said SMEs, which employ 700,000 workers out a total labour force of 1.9m and account for some 270,000 Irish businesses, are the bedrock of the domestic economy.

Russia

The Minister for Trade and Commerce, Billy Kelleher TD, today leads 30 Irish firms on a week-long trade mission to Russia.

The firms are from a range of sectors including engineering, construction, food and drink, education and business services. Half of them are in the information communications technology (ICT) and services sectors.

The trade mission has been organised by the Government’s indigenous job creation agency, Enterprise Ireland, to coincide with President Mary McAleese’s visit to Russia.

Russia is Europe’s largest emerging market.

Irish exports to the country grew by over 66% in the first five months of this year - -  most of these exports likely came from the multinational sector.

The Department said Ireland is the seventh largest provider of foreign direct investment to Russia ahead of the US and Japan.

What it doesn't say is that this investment comes exclusively from international building materials group CRH.