There are few people in the workplace today who do not recognise the need to understand and make use of the tools which have revoluntionised the ways businesses operate but unfortunately, the opportunities to learn have not always been readily available, especially for those working in a small business environment.

The Scottish Co-operatives Development Company (SCDC) will shortly launch a new 10-week programme which is designed to take the two separate concepts of marketing and information technology and integrate them into a training programme called Dynamic Marketing.

Alan MacGregor, one of the champions of the programme, worked for SCDC for almost nine years before leaving in March this year, and this is one of several training programmes that he project-manages for SCDC through his own company: Impact Communications.

Before moving into the training and development side of SCDC, Alan has worked for mainly small businesses, small co-operatives and employee-owned businesses. He discovered that many of them had significant skill deficits in the areas of marketing and IT.

He proprosed the integrated training programme a year ago, basing it on research findings which suggested that many small and medium-sized businesses (SME's) have not yet grasped the concepts of even the most basic computing technology, despite the fact that reducing cost now means that it is within the grasp of most companies.

The proposal was accepted and the programme will run from September 6 to November 9, with a week's placement in a SME. It will be free of charge to the trainees as SCDC's training is funded by the European Social Fund, Strathclyde Business Development and Glasgow City Council.

Judging by the applications already received, there are indications that at least half are from people over 40, and Alan can easily empathise with this group.

"As someone approaching 40, I have just managed to catch on to the edge of the new technology," he admitted. "I would say that unless people of 40+ have made a concerted effort and have been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, technology may well have passed them by. Although marketing is not new, it too is poorly understood by people from that generation."

Millie Burnett of SCDC is responsible for marketing the programme and has found this to be true. "I have had telephone calls from people saying that they have been in sales for the past 20 or 30 years, and that they are out work at the moment becuase they don't have the necessary skills for today," she said.

The Dynamic Marketing Programme will run for two days a week over nine weeks plus a week's placement. It is aimed more at people who are unemployed, and attendance at the course will not effect benefit.

Those people in employment who apply for the course would be accepted only if their current position is under threat of redundancy or closure. "Many of the exercises, case studies and assignments will have an SME focus to them," explained Alan McGregor. "This will better equip people when they move on and look for employment within smaller businesses, which are the way ahead according to most recent data. For instance, that data includes the Scottish Enterprise Business Birth Rate Report, which clearly identifies the fact that the number of large-site, multi-employers is dwindling, and the proportion of people employed by smaller business is constantly rising."

The programme has four major components. The first is designed to provide everyone with a good foundation level of training in computing technology. To this end, the first few weeks of the programme will involve two SCOTVEC modules, one in word processing and the other in database.

This will be followed by a detailed look at the application of marketing techniques, particularly for small businesses. A good appreciation of the current and future business applications of the Internet is also vital.

The final and very important component is the work placement, and over the past few weeks, suitable placements for the trainees have been selected from SCDC's own clients. The placement experience has been carefully constructed, with the trainees carrying out a live project. This will address a real marketing need within the company, so that it too will have something tangible to show for it.

One firm which will be involved is Glendale Knitwear, a new start company launched at the beginning of this year and which has already built up a strong order base. While business is thriving, one of Glendale's major challenges lies in the fact that, with the bulk of its business coming from two or three major suppliers, it has little time to explore other possibilities. The trainee, under supervision, will work in this area.

Job prospects at the end of the course are expected to be very good. Basing his expectations on the past experience of SCDC programmes, where around two-thirds of the trainees have gone into related employment after six months, Alan McGregor expects at least three-quarters of the programme participants to find work in the related areas within six months.

He said, "I believe that the skills people emerge with will make them sought after and more employable in the labour market."

Taken from The Herald, Tuesday, August 29 1995.