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In Britain small firms comprise approximately half of private sector employment and one quarter of gross domestic product. The findings presented in this paper come from a part-funded European Social Fund (ESF) Objective 4 project looking at human resource issues and skills within small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Twenty companies based in Aberdeen, whose business was based on the utilisation of new technology and innovative product and service solutions were analysed. The study consisted of two stages. The initial stage looked at strategic planning and aspects such as innovation and organisational processes, providing a general background to the company and the second stage, in which fourteen companies participated, focused on human resource issues and training needs in more detail. This paper investigated the pressures facing small companies, the local economy and business environment, as well as government and other skills initiatives. The findings indicate that SMEs in the Aberdeen area face great pressures and competition as they are largely competing in oligopolistic international markets. In conclusion, the authors emphasise that although SMEs cannot adopt the processes of skill forecasting and training needs analyses seen in larger companies, they can adopt basic elements of skill forecasting and training and development plans.

The volume of papers is indexed at TD/INT 59.531. Show less