Participation is open to manufacturing SMEs (that is, typically less than 250 employees) in Objective 1 and 3 areas in Wales . There are no fees or costs - other than releasing employees to engage in training. Clearly, companies should be open minded about the application of new ideas and motivated by the opportunities presented by lean thinking. The staff involved should be middle to senior grade (as the course is equivalent to NVQ Level 4) and be reasonably IT literate. It is expected that the initial training activity will take place for around 3 months from the end of 2006 and the first half of 2007, though there is considerable flexibility on the duration of the course.

Those participating will have an opportunity to enhance the competency of their workforce, with specific skill development at strategic and tactical levels - such as the deployment of improvements across the organization, or the selection and implementation of operational projects.

Click here for a 2 page brochure describing the project (pdf file)

Click here for a map of Objective 1 & 3 areas in Wales.