e-Skills UK has set up a website for small IT businesses. Called One Stop Shop, this is a a free, online directory of courses and training providers across the UK.

The site has information on tens of thousands of full and part-time courses, from public and private providers. It also offers a range of self-study courses, which comply with the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), the national skills network for IT professionals.

Small businesses are often reluctant to get involved in training schemes. Many are wary of the time and costs involved, as well as the possibility of newly-trained staff leaving to join other companies.

However, e-Skills UK says that entrepreneurs should look at training as an investment, pointing to research which finds that half of IT firms believe their profits would be higher with skilled employees.

Terry Watts, of e-Skills UK, welcomed the new resource: "Small and medium sized businesses often struggle to identify the right type of IT training from the huge number of courses available."

"By cutting through the confusion, the One Stop Shop removes one of the barriers to companies investing in training and developing the skills of their workforce."

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