Western Australia’s small business owners now have greater access to relevant training to help them boost their operations.

Training Minister Peter Collier today officially launched the Small Business Training Institute, to be funded $1.4million over two years by the State Government and hosted by West Coast TAFE.

Mr Collier said small business was crucial to WA’s economy and it was vital that the sector had the capacity to be innovative and responsive to the local and global environment.

“I expect the institute to play an important role in boosting the uptake of training by small businesses,” he said.

The institute will work with public and private partners to engage small business in relevant and accessible training programs.

It will provide a range of advisory and coaching services to small business owners and a brokering service to advertise specialist training services by public and private providers.

The institute’s flagship program, Small Business Solutions, enables owners to access personalised one-on-one mentoring in the workplace, from experienced professionals with business mentoring qualifications.

The Minister said a business skills advisor would conduct a ‘health check’ to diagnose business performance, identify any gaps and provide assistance with strategies to take the organisation to the next level.

“Owners will also have the opportunity to take part in flexible training opportunities and tailored group workshops and have access to relevant information to support their business,” he said.

Mr Collier said the Government was committed to further building an innovative, responsive and efficient training system for WA.