There are over 80 different government supports available to small businesses but many of them are not well known or understood. Each week in the SFA e-zine, we will profile a different support that could improve your business, giving you information and advice.

*To speak to the providers of Finuas and other government supports for small business, register for the free Taking Care of Business event on 8 November in Dublin Castle www.takingcareofbusiness.ie* 

Finuas Networks Programme

What? 

State subsidised training courses for the international financial services sector. The model involves co-investment by the State and firms to develop training networks and offer enterprise-led training to upskill existing staff and expand the pool of high value, specialised and market-appropriate skills within the industry.

Finuas training networks offer courses designed for the following sectors:

• Banking and capital markets
• Investment management
• Insurance
• Companies that provide professional services to the above sectors, including legal, tax, accounting, business advice and IT consultancy

The courses available range from short courses to Masters awards and cover topics such as compliance, advanced banking risk management, applied alternative investments, aviation leasing and finance, complex financial instruments and financial regulation.

Why? 

The establishment of the Finuas programme arose from a 2007 study by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs on the ‘Future Skills and Research Needs of the International Financial Services Industry’. The report identified the need to provide a greater focus on specialising in a number of selected areas which would support the development of an internationally distinctive competence which is more aligned with a mid to high cost base.

Finuas aims to support the sector in maintaining Ireland’s position as a top international financial services centre by investing in further developing the specialist skills and expertise of its workforce. The State subsidy comes from the National Training Fund and is administered by Skillnets.

How? 

Finuas training is delivered by Finuas learning networks, made up of a group of companies working together to provide training for their collective staff. Companies can join one or more networks.

At present, there is no funding available to new networks. Companies can, however, join a funded network or participate in training at any time through one of the existing networks: 

• Summit Finuas Network
• Law Society Finuas Network
• Aviation Finance Finuas Network

Tips

If you are interested in applying, don’t forget:

• Participating companies must operate in the international financial services sector and be wholly private sector business or commercial operations
• Companies of any size are eligible
• Those employees participating in Finuas training must be based in Ireland
• Job seekers fulfilling certain criteria can access Finuas training at no cost. More information is available here
• It is hoped that the programme will allow companies to learn from each other and absorb best practice, which will lead to jointly recognised and improved industry standards
• More information is available at www.finuas.ie.