{"id":58231,"date":"2022-11-09T15:54:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T15:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=58231"},"modified":"2022-11-10T13:08:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T13:08:11","slug":"new-digital-support-offered-to-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/new-digital-support-offered-to-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"New digital support offered to small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New online support is now available to help small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to be more savvy with their digital skills.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the Digital Enablement for SMEs (DESME)<\/a> project, which we’re delivering in partnership with YTKO and Cosmic, an online self-assessment tool, called the Digital Maturity Index<\/a>, has been launched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been devised to enable businesses to gain an understanding of their digital strengths and weaknesses. It also offers insights into digital tools that may help their business develop and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This self-assessment tool is designed to be completed by business managers on behalf of their business. Once they have completed this assessment and downloaded their report, they will have targeted information that can guide them to access funded digital training courses and resources or further advice from one of the project\u2019s expert digital advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DESME project<\/a>, which is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), offers bespoke training to enable businesses to make the most of readily available digital tools. The aim is to improve the management of their business, increase efficiency and help them to grow their reach.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n \t\t

\u201cThe digital world is constantly changing and can prove daunting at times \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t have to be the case. The self-assessment tool through DESME aims to help businesses gain a thorough insight into how they can make better use of \u201cdigital\u201d in all its forms to support their productivity, efficiency, competitiveness, development of new products, and ultimately growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n

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\r\n Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\n\n\n

The project also offers the Digital Course Finder<\/a>, an extensive online database of digital skills training courses delivered by training providers across the county, as well as online digital skills courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This website is the first of its kind in Devon and is aimed at adults of all ages who are looking to learn new skills, as well as businesses looking for Digital Skills training for their employees. Users can search for digital courses based on a variety of factors such as subject, location, course length or format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training providers can create their own accounts which will enable them to add courses and events as well as maintain and update their courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Gilbert added: <\/strong>\u201cThese tools are designed to work in unison, especially when used by businesses. With the help of the Digital Maturity Index, businesses can assess the areas that need improvement, and they can then refer to the Course Finder, to plug those skills gaps. I would encourage all small businesses in Devon to give it a try and see how they can benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find out more about DESME<\/a> and access the Digital Maturity Index<\/a> and Digital Course Finder<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":58249,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22,24],"tags":[256,38],"class_list":["post-58231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-economy-and-skills","category-dcc-homepage","tag-business-and-economy","tag-cllr-rufus-gilbert"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":58249,"title":"Copy of hero image for news website (29)","alt":"A woman working on a laptop","description":"","caption":"Photo by Mikhail Nilov on 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