This article is from page 69 of the 2007-07-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
THERE are opportunities for third level graduates and highly skilled staff to work in rural enterprises in the west of Ireland. That’s one of the key points to emerge from new re- search by the Western Development Commission (WDC) on rural enter- prises in the West.
The WDC’s publication “Rural Businesses at Work” concludes that retaining and attracting young peo- ple to rural areas is critical to the continued growth of rural enter- prises and for the establishment of new businesses in such areas. Rural enterprises are at the heart of the Western Region’s future given that 68 per cent of its population live in rural areas, compared with 39 per cent of the population of the state. While in county Clare, 67 per cent of the population is rural.
Speaking at the launch of the publi- cation, Gillian Buckley Chief Execu- tive of the WDC said “Our research shows that there is a close fit between the needs of employers and of staff. SW ilorteomalbeveubercmolbnsen lento wm DOMMEDesDErDee eas have a demand for graduates and Skilled workers, while the WDC’s LookWest.ie campaign shows that many skilled workers have a strong desire to work and live in the West”.
Buckley added, “Recent CSO fig-
ures showed 16 per cent of adults in county Clare have a third level de- gree. This is positive news for enter- prises in the county as it provides a pool of locally available, highly edu- cated workers”.
The new WDC publication profiles ten businesses in different sectors including traditional and high-tech manufacturing, professional servic- es, natural resources, internationally traded services, tourism, retail, and the creative and construction indus- tries. The profiles show the diversity of firms operating in rural Ireland and give an insight into how they operate, including how and why they first came into being.
“This study lifts the lid on rural enterprises,’ said Buckley. “It shows that it is possible nowadays to run a successful business in almost any sector in rural Ireland, particularly if you have access to the latest in- formation technology and can net- work easily with customers, suppli- ers and peers. It also underlines the importance of high speed, affordable broadband to rural areas. It 1s essen- tial that universal broadband access be a national priority and hopefully the National Broadband Scheme an- nounced earlier this year will be ful- ly implemented as soon as possible’”’, she added.
The Skillnets initiative was _ par-
ticularly praised by those involved in the study because it delivers training for small businesses without requir- ing long distance travel, as well as providing an opportunity to network with other business people in a simi- lar situation.
“When a small business owner wants to attend training that only takes place in Dublin there are sev- eral costs; the cost of the training, the cost of travelling to Dublin and the cost of being away from the business for two or three days. Small busi- nesses are more likely to upskill if they can do it locally without losing days for travel,” Buckley said.
For those companies who primarily service the Irish market, the key con- cern was how a general slowdown in the national economy would affect their performance. Given the signifi- cant role of businesses that largely depend on the local market, particu- larly in rural towns and villages, this is a very real concern for the viability of rural economies generally.
“The research shows that the rural economy can sustain a broad range of different enterprise models but that there are gaps in infrastructure that must be addressed if they are to grow and if new enterprises are to set up in rural areas,” Buckley said.