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Purpose - The paper alerts small business employers to new dictates of the Disability Discrimination Act (2005) as it applies to learning disabilities. Then the "Learning to Work" project featured in the paper offers small business employers a set of approaches and methods for the identification of a learning-disabled young adult candidate's training needs. Design/methodology/approach - Interviews were carried out with 12 of the 52 companies in which the Breakaway-supported employment service, operating from the Southdown Housing Association, has so far secured employment for people with learning disabilities. Findings - Comments from employers in the survey represented predominantly very favourable experiences with the learning-disabled individuals, mixed with some reservations about their need for additional training time, and their relative inflexibility in response to change of work routines. Research limitations/implications - The investigation was confined to SMEs in Sussex. As they stand, the methods could be used in different business sectors, but further research is planned on elicitation of candidates' personal constructs, resource modelling, and continuous training cycles. Originality/value - Recognised supported employment models were used but significantly adapted. Some methods used in the paper were new. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the challenges involved in the development of coordinated management consulting services for small and medium-sized international companies in the East of England. This paper synthesises the findings of recently published quantitative and qualitative research to identify the characteristics of small to medium-sized enterprises seeking to trade internationally. The provision of coordinated and funded consulting services for these companies will require skills and marketing tools development for advisers and consultants. The region's success in achieving its economic targets will be assessed in terms of its inherent features and emerging strategies to move from service based on the information paradigm to those based on the consultancy paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a research paper, which focuses on training needs for women-owned SMEs in England, based on quantitative data collected through 108 on-line questionnaires. It investigates needs and preferences for training among growth-oriented women-owned SMEs in East of England. It offers original primary research into contributory growth factors for women-owned enterprises in a representative area of Britain, identifies key issues, maps survival and success factors, and assesses women entrepreneurs' training needs and preferences. Findings of research are discussed which reveal that one fourth of respondents received growth-oriented training in the previous two years, with an average duration of 3-5 days per year. The result is limited to service sectors and sole proprietorships.

The article discusses a research paper, which focuses on financial education in small ethnic minority businesses in Great Britain, based on portal survey of owner/managers in 64 ethnic minority small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and a control sample of 23 non-ethnic SMEs of United Kingdom. It evaluates the financial education needs of ethnic minority SMEs in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It makes an empirically rigorous contribution to a relatively under researched aspect of SME research. Results of research are discussed which show that owner/managers of micro-businesses have lower educational achievements as well as higher financial education needs than their counterparts in small and medium-sized firms.

The article discusses a research paper, which focuses on issues in the adoption of new technology in small technology oriented firms, based on surveys of small information and communication technologies (ICT) oriented firms in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It explores issues which smaller firms face with the adoption of new technologies. It reveals how pressure to adopt new technologies largely emanates from within the small firms and shows what can happen where an owner-manager is or is not willing to listen, learn and provide appropriate resources to ensure the smooth adoption and implementation of new technologies.

The article discusses a research paper which focuses on development of a collaborative learning environment through technology enhanced education (TE3) support. It reports on the development of a knowledge transfer project, part funded through TE3, designed to encourage innovation and improve the capability of SMEs in the West Midlands region of the UK. It outlines a proposal for a collaborative learning environment which will provide value to designers of virtual learning environments and funded support providers. Findings reveals that firms that efficiently tap into all relevant sources of knowledge are likely to thrive and those which cannot may struggle.