Management training in SMEs

Upgrading the skills of all types of workers, including managers, is central to firm performance in knowledge-based economies. The quality of management is particularly important for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which must be able to adapt quickly to evolving markets and changing circumstances, but which often have limited resources. Such constraints also put limits on their ability to engage in training, even though studies indicate that there is a positive correlation between the degree of management training and the bottom-line performance of an SME. There is preliminary evidence that formal management training can reduce the failure rates of small firms, which are far more likely to fail than larger firms, particularly in the early years. This report presents the findings of management training case studies in six OECD countries: Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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