Over the last two years, a training grant has been available from Skills Development Scotland for companies with fewer than 150 employees to receive training aimed at improving employee skills. The grant available amounts to 50% of the cost of the training.

We are please to announce that this scheme has now been extended for the coming year to 31 March 2013.

The rules of the scheme are that funding is available for 10 instances of training in a particular year. The grant will fund 50% of the training cost with a funding limit of £500 per instance of training. This means that if one instance of training costs £1,200 then a grant of will be payable of £500, however, should the training cost £600 then the funding will be £300.

The criteria for qualifying for the funding are that the business must be based in Scotland, the training must be aimed at improving employee skills, contribute to business productivity or result in improved efficiencies. The limit for the number of employees per business has, for this new year, been revised down from 150 employees to 100 employees. Although the grant is aimed at helping with the cost of training, it must not be legislative or statutory i.e. required by law and non-negotiable.

We have had a lot of success with this scheme, and used the scheme to:

- Implement new accounting packages.
- Computerise a client's payroll function.
- Give training on better use of these systems.
- Improve the standard of the records a client produces at the year end (manual and computerised).
- Improve a client's cash management.
- Implement a management accounts production process for a client.
- General payroll training.

Should you have any queries in relation to a training grant scheme, how it operates, whether your business would be applicable or any training opportunities which may fall under this scheme, then please do not hesitate to contact us in our Dundee or Forfar offices.