One step back, two step forward – L&D in SMEs

The World Bank stipulates that in the coming 15 years, the total number of jobs needed would be around 600 million that would be needed to absorb an expanding global workforce. Small and medium enterprises create 4 out of 5 new employment opportunities, along with most formal jobs in emerging markets existing with SMEs.Despite this, more than 50% of SMEs lack access to finance, which hinders their growth. And this growth is directly related to the learning and development of employees. With many SMEs attempting to scale-up, challenges related to training new employees and updating exiting product knowledge of employees forms a crucial challenge.
Unlike large firms, SMEs with limited financial resources and insufficient managerial infrastructure tend to have less formal foundation for L&D and leadership development programs. Increasing competition and the need to build competitive edge has made capability building as a key business agenda. Chandrakant Salunkhe, Founder& MD, SME C