Description
The report begins by investigating the causes of the ‘MSME training gap’. It then develops a novel taxonomy of policies supporting MSMEs to increase their training provision, before analysing a broad range of policy instruments aiming at mitigating the MSME training gap, implemented across the EU-27 and the UK with roots in different fields of policy-making, including lifelong learning and skills, business development and innovation, and active labour market and employment. It then provides insights into the effectiveness of the policies supporting increased MSME training provision. It proposes the novel concept of ‘support arrangement’ – which refers to all forms of support available to MSMEs located in a given sector/region – and empirically explores the support arrangements in selected skill ecosystems and skill formation systems. The report concludes with suggestions for policy-making and further research.
