Subsidised courses offered to help London SMEs get more out of IT.

The article reports that the European Social Forum is subsidising IT training courses aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises in London, England, use IT more effectively. ICT4SMES is a three-stage programme beginning with an IT "health check" to assess the current IT capacity of each small business. The second stage offers training in how to set up networks, wireless technology and tackling IT security threats. Viren Punjani, managing director at eCademy, which will provide the training, said that smaller businesses are often not clear on how to set up networks so they can share data. The training is aimed particularly at the smaller end of the SME market which desperately needs the support. The aim of the programme is to help SMEs develop their IT use to a level that is self-sustainable, cuts costs and streamlines processes. The ICT4SMEs programme is co-financed by the European Social Forum through the central London Learning and Skills Council and costs 300 pound plus VAT per person.