EC gets SME training
European Commission launches training programme for its civil servants
The European Commission (EC) has launched a training programme for its civil servants in an attempt to help them better understand SME business requirements.
The Enterprise Experience programme places civil servants from the EC’s Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry at an SME for one week as a training visitor.
Gunter Verheugen, Commission vice-president responsible for enterprise and industry policy, said in a statement: “Enterprise Experience will give my staff on-the-job experience about life in an SME.
“In return, companies will not only get highly motivated trainees, but also EU [European Union] ambassadors who will be able to explain EU policies that are relevant to them.”
Sue Richards, managing director of VAR EBM, told CRN: “The success of the programme depends on the background of each official. If the official is sent to an IT SME then they need to have some background in IT to make it worthwhile.”
Rob Jones, marketing manager at VAR CMS Computers, said it was good that the EC was being proactive, but he remained cautious.
“A lot depends on how much the official will disrupt the SME and whether a week is long enough,” he said.
The launch of Enterprise experience follows a pilot scheme that ran between April 2005 and early 2006. The EC said it aimed to train 50 EC officials in 2006 and 350 by the end of 2008.
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