South Kerry Skillnet

South Kerry Skillnet, established in 2006, is State funded and promoted by the South Kerry Development Partnership Limited.  Our aim is to support business and enterprise in County Kerry.

We present businesses, their management and staff with excellent opportunities to improve skills through top class training and support.

Businesses also benefit through new knowledge acquired, networking with other businesses and looking for collaboration opportunities to improve business performance that would otherwise be beyond their individual reach.

All Training that we carry out in The South Kerry Skillnet Programme receives funding and is at the direction of our network members who come from all over the Kerry region and across a wide range of industries.

The Skillnet programme supports the training of people at all levels of the business, including owners/managers, staff and workers and is open to all types of business, regardless of size or industry sector.

It provides for the rapid improvement of skills and learning for the workforce to improve performance in a world of constant change, ever increasing services demands, intense competition and regulatory compliance.

“Its people that make the difference in any business and its performance is largely dependent of the skills, knowledge and organisation of its workforce”. 

The South Kerry Skillnet is funded by member companies and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets Ltd.  funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Education and Skills.

Skillnets Workshop Launch
About South Kerry Skillnet

South Kerry Skillnet is funded by member companies and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets Ltd, and from the National Training Fund through the department of Education and Skills.

Training is becoming more important than ever as business knowledge is becoming a key source of competitive advantage and must be ongoing to maintain and improve the importance of individuals and their contribution to the enterprise.  All training courses will be delivered at times and venues in the area that suit the needs of the members, minimising cost and disruption to the business.

Benefits of joining South Kerry Skillnet

By joining the South Kerry Skillnet your company can benefit from:

Top quality Training Programmes based on the actual needs of businesses.

  • Up to 25% funding of Training costs provided.
  • Support for your in-house training requirements.
  • Training delivered locally throughout the area, minimizing costs and disruption.
  • One to one mentoring: personal coaching for owner/managers by experienced professionals.
Who it's for?

The South Kerry Skillnet Programme

  • Supports the training of people at all levels of the business including owner/managers, staff and workers.
  • We carry out courses under our EAP (Employment Activation Programme) for the unemployed and these are 100% funded by Skillnets.
  • Job-Seekers are eligible to attend our courses, free of charge, but some criteria may apply.  Contact the  network for further information.
  • Is very supportive of Small Businesses.
What type of Training does Skillnet offer?

South Kerry Skillnet provide Training across a wide and varied sector. Everything from Farming to Time Management, First Aid, Manual Handling or to simply improving business processes.

Our Network Members include, Farmers, Childcare Facilities, Small SME’s such as Hairdressers and Accountants to larger companies such as Fexco and Astellas.

Once a member company approaches Skillnet with a particular training need, Skillnet will then immediately set about finding other member businesses who may have the same or similar training requirements.  Once Skillnet has gathered enough members to run the training, they will then organise the training provider, venue and any other items to ensure the efficient and smooth running of the training.

Our contracted training providers have passed through a rigorous tendering process, ensuring that we have selected the most experienced, cost effective and who’s going to provide the best value for our Network members.

A Skillnet network is a group of companies that come together to carry out cross-organizational training related activities which may not be possible on their own.  Companies jointly address their training needs, collaborate with other enterprises, and engage experts, trainers, certifying bodies, industry bodies and others to work with them to achieve their goals.

What Courses do Skillnet offer?

Training Programmes include courses on:

  • Sales & Marketing
  • Customer Care
  • Managing People & Performance
  • Employment Law
  • Management Development – Essential Skills
  • Computer Skills, ECDL, Word, Excel, Email & Internet

And many more as requested by our members.  All our courses and networking events are shown on the Skillnet website.  Please view the Calendar or Course Listing to view these. www.skillnet.ie

Networking

South Kerry Skillnet supports the development of business networks, organising regular seminars and briefing sessions for owners/managers throughout the region with expert speakers on topics of interest, providing you with opportunities to :

  • Make new business contacts.
  • Pick up valuable business information and knowledge.
  • Promote your business.
  • Improve your business performance through collaboration with others in joint activities such as marketing, purchasing, etc, enabling you to achieve goals that might otherwise be beyond your reach.
The Unemployed

If you are unemployed then you may enquire about any specific courses as normal. Alternatively, use our general Enquiry Form to register your interest in a type or range of courses. From there and when a course becomes available meeting your area of interest, we will be in contact to arrange your participation.
The EAP (Employment Activation Programme) is designed specifically for the unemployed. It is 100% funded by Skillnets and as part of the course participants are required to complete a work placement relevant to the course. In 2012 we are running two EAP Courses, they are Website development and Tour Guiding with First Aid. We believe these are two courses that are relevant to South Kerry and areas where there is definite employment for the participants once they have completed the course.

Should you be interested in participating in either course then please contact us.
Under the TNP (Training Network Programme) we also provide Training courses for the Unemployed. For instance if an employer wants us to run a Train the Trainer Course and the course is full we can then put up to 4 Unemployed people on that same course.

Self Employed / Employers

If you are self employed and are interested in a new training course (not currently listed in our Course Calendar), then we will be delighted to hear from you. Please give us a call or send and email providing the following information:

  • Your company name
  • Nature of your business
  • Your own contact information
  • A description of your training requirement
  • Number of people likely to attend

Once we have received your enquiry we will contact you to discuss further details of the Training.

The Employed

Employed people interested in one or more courses displayed in our Course Calendar should complete the on-line Enquiry Form displayed beneath the course details on the Skillnet website www.kerryskillnet.ie . We will then contact you promptly with more information and to arrange your participation.

How can I make contact with South Kerry Skillnets and book a Course?

Aoife O’Reilly
South Kerry Skillnet Network Manager
South Kerry Development Partnership Ltd
Library Place
Killorglin
Co. Kerry

087-2645147

www.kerryskillnet.ie

info@kerryskillnet.ie

or

Breda O’Sullivan – Administrator Skillnets – bosullivan@skdp.net