Building a Better Business: A Flexibly Delivered SME Skills Program Dr Patrice Braun and Mary Hollick Centre for Regional Innovation and Competitiveness School of Business

presentation overview Project Overview - Key SME & micro tourism firm issues Project Plan -Phases -Partners -Portal Technology The Future

weaknesses of small tourism firms Lack of economies of scale Poor core competencies and strategic direction relative to the advantages of new economies and technologies Accessibility to training (office-bound) Poor business/financial management & resources Lack of entry barriers & industry standardisation Poor recruitment practises, low turnover Dependence on larger destination marketing organisations Lack of supporting markets/networking Information technology illiteracy Source: based on Buhalis, D Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and information Technology: Challenges and Opportunities. Gesellschaft fur anwendungsorientierte Tourismus-und Freizeitforschung, (Hrsg.), Internationale Tagung, St. Wolfgang, (1999), pp. 240.

the bbbonline project The building a better business (bbb)online pilot project involves flexible delivery of learning modules and tourism business case examples to support (especially women- owned/managed) small business learning, industry accreditation, uptake of ICT, and general industry capacity building.

the bbbonline project The bbbonline pilot project is designed as a multi-modal learning program with –Web-based content –CD-ROM based content –Face-to-Face workshops –Technical Support –Mentor Support

bbbonline -eLearning Takes place Anywhere, Anytime, Anyplace - uses electronic means for small business information gathering & knowledge transfer Includes a wide range of learning strategies and technologies, including CD-Rom, online support, mentoring and face-to-face workshops. Small enterprises in tourism can participate in online learning environments, which are designed as tutorial systems over the Internet; in their own time and place.

Building A Better Business Pilot Program funded by project partners Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria Tourism Victoria Clusters Asia Pacific Goldfields Tourism Ballarat Tourism Bendigo Tourism Hepburn Shire Tourism Central Highlands Area Consultative Committee Central Victoria Area Consultative Committee

project plan Phase 1: Goldfields region pilot (completed) –Multi-modal content development, –online platform launch – July 2004 –Awareness Building –June/July 2004 –Regional Workshops – July through Dec 2004 –Action Learning Reflection & Program Evaluation – Dec 2004 –Content modification for Phase 2 – Feb/March 2005 Phase 2: repeat cycle April-Nov 2005 Pilot Program ends December 2005

portal technology Public AreaAdministration Area Home pageWeb Managed Program contentPassword protected log-in access Events calendarPromotion of awareness raising sessions & workshop schedule Links and resourcesRelevant websites & partners Discussion forumOnline discussion structure EvaluationOnline – data dynamically generated – awareness of survey raised via Syndicated resourcesSyndication via Business Entry Point Program supportOnline Help Desk Mentor supportActive phone link Industry Associations & NetworksPurpose built database SearchCustomised user interface to search index Site StatisticsBacked by comprehensive website statistical package to monitor traffic

project issues to date Technical barriers – lack of band width; operator browsers; Need for integration, simplification of technology across multiple systems women especially interested in learning No use of forum deregulated tourism industry reflected in industry know-how silo thinking vs. whole-of-destination thinking fear of collaboration/knowledge sharing small firms enthusiastic about the program, but still lack time & ICT skills/resources

the future Embed existing infrastructure into various tourism (institutional, educational, industry) organisations and websites Deliver the model in other regional settings, both domestically and internationally Continue to share research in the area of micro and small enterprise skill and capacity building.

Dr Patrice Braun &Mary Hollick