Exporters welcome ACCEL project

A NEW training programme is designed to help food and drink exporters cope with challenges such as increasing competition at home and overseas, more and more food regulations, and changes in customer trends and habits.

The Irish Exporters Association’s ACCEL Food and Drink Export Project has been launched by Food and Horticulture Minister Brendan Smith.

Minister Smith said, “The skills in marketing and sales, brand management and e-business skills, which are offered in the ACCEL Food and Drink Training Project, are designed to help exporters make their businesses grow.”

John Whelan, CEO of the Irish Exporters Association said, “Costs and cost recovery are vital elements in the battle for competitive positioning in the industry. I am confident the ACCEL Food and Drink Export Project will be of significant assistance to companies in addressing cost issues, through up-skilling and benchmarking to best practice, with the assistance of knowledgeable mentors.”

“The Accel Food and Drink Export Project will provide companies with training fully customised to their business needs. Owners and managers will gain a deep awareness of marketing strategies, sales capabilities in external markets, and the panorama of innovative behaviour. One to one training and group workshops will cover a wide range of areas, such as strategic planning, marketing and international sales management and e-business technologies. Accreditation will be provided by the Institute of International Trade of Ireland.”

Recent reports carried out by Forfas and the Expert Skills Group highlighted the need for increased training and support in international sales and marketing.

Diane Dignam, Programme Manager of the ACCEL Programme said, “By coming together and forming an ACCEL Project, companies work together to devise the most suitable training programmes for their collective needs. By joining forces, companies increase their buying power, reduce training costs and subsequently access forms of training that might otherwise have been too expensive or specialist for one company to oversee.”

ACCEL is funded by the European Social Fund, the National Development Plan and member companies. Up to e16 million will be allocated to approved ACCEL projects up to 2008. For further information, contact Monica Duff, Project Manager, at [e-mail] or at 087 051 7410.