Southlanders supporting southern business

Providing businesses with the Enterprise Training Programme was a ‘seriously good idea’!

That was the response from Jane Stanton, owner of the Seriously Good Chocolate Company in Invercargill, after attending the programme’s Lean Manufacturing workshop series. Prior to the workshops, Ms Stanton had little professional experience with production and manufacturing processes. The information she received through the workshops enabled her to implement systems to increase productivity and reduce costs and has proved invaluable to her business.  

Ms Stanton found the workshops excellent and the tutor’s extensive knowledge and experience had a major impact on the effectiveness of the course. “Keith Alexander, who took the course, was extremely supportive and went beyond the call of call of duty. He offered a fresh perspective and is one of the many people I met during the course who have kept in touch.” Ms Stanton said she is in the process of implementing the lean manufacturing way of processing at the Seriously Good Chocolate Company.

The Enterprise Training Programme (ETP) is business training that is funded by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE). The programme, delivered in the region by Venture Southland, is targeted at the owners, operators and managers of small to medium businesses, which make up a large portion of Southland’s economy. The Enterprise Training Programme targets businesses that employ less than 50 full time equivalent workers and want to up-skill management capabilities. The inclusive nature of the Venture Southland governance model, which involves Iwi, mayors and industry representatives, ensures a region-wide reach and understanding for the programme.

The Enterprise Training Programme offers training in a wide range or subject areas. Marketing, human resources management, export, lean manufacturing, finance, business planning and sustainability feature among topics covered. When a client first approaches regarding business training, a Venture Southland advisor meets with them to discuss an appropriate training course, and any other services available to businesses in the region. The advisor then writes an ‘opportunity plan’ outlining potential training workshops for the client and any other resources they may be interested in. The client then attends a training workshop and as a result is eligible for up to 1.5 hours one-on-one coaching with the presenter of that workshop.

In 2009, Venture Southland responded to the changing economic situation and delivered training with a focus on improving business processes and systems to ensure a greater chance of survival during a recession. This included workshops on marketing with a limited budget, improving cash flow and credit/debt management. These services were relevant and timely – responses to these workshops from the business community were outstanding. Throughout 2008-2009 more than 370 Southland businesses took advantage of the Enterprise Training Programme with over 60 training workshops and more than 200 hours one-on-one coaching. A particular highlight of the contract was the delivery of website training to Invercargill, Gore and Te Anau. These workshops were exceptionally well attended and feedback was superb.