The OECS/Export Development Unit is mandated to increase exports from the OECS markets to regional and international markets. In achieving its mandate the EDU delivers technical and financial assistance to a client base of over three hundred companies (300) geared at ensuring products and services for export are competitive. 

The EDU works with these Firms to help make them market ready, meet quality assurance and good manufacturing practices, meet the export market certification standards and product development requirements of international markets.

The OECS/Export Development Unit, with funding support from the 9th European Development Fund Caribbean Trade & Private Sector Development Programme has been conducting a series of National Training Programmes across the OECS which began July 19th 2010; a total of one hundred and seventy-five (175) companies will benefit from this program.

The overall objective of these workshops is to equip personnel from Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Business Support Organizations with innovative and creative tools for enhancing their business performance. The workshops aim to provide participants with knowledge in Costing and Pricing, Marketing, E-commerce, Records Management and Human Resource Management  to aide them to successfully manage their business in the face of the increasingly competitive export market.

The target audience includes owners, managers and supervisory level personnel from OECS companies and Business Support Organizations (BSO’s) in the manufacturing and services sectors. To date, workshops have been concluded in Antigua & Barbuda and in St. Kitts.

The workshops which are being facilitated by the Consulting firm of Business Works Limited out of Jamaica and will focus on topics which include:

•  Introduction and development of simple costing tool/method.
• Introduction to the concept of reviewing company systems/method and identifying its strengths and weaknesses.
• Introducing a simple book-keeping/accounting system suitable to the company’s capacity.
• Computing break-even analysis.
• How to develop a detailed cost and pricing structure for existing products.
• Principles of Marketing, Records Management and Human Resource Management
• Introduction to various forms of e-commerce to increase performance
• Preparing effective Marketing Plans, Records Management Plan and HR Strategies.
• The effects of Costing and Pricing, Marketing, Records Management and HR Management on the bottom line.

At the end of the workshop participants will gain an appreciation for and have hands on-knowledge in:

•  Costing and Pricing methods appropriate for their respective companies;
• Profitability Analysis and Analyzing Financial data;
• Conducting diagnostics on their companies to identify strengths and weaknesses in their production, sales and financial positions;
• The development of Marketing Plans, Records Management Plans and HR Strategies for their companies.

Participants with prior training and proficiency in these areas, will be provided with an opportunity to be exposed to new trends and innovative practices in the field driven by Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and share experiences gained from counterpart businesses and the Consultants from their Jamaican and wider Caribbean perspective.

A Reference Manual to assist Companies and Business Support Organizations in implementing what they have learnt is one of the tangible outputs of the workshop. Another significant outcome is the establishment of an electronic workspace and information portal which will provide free support and networking opportunities for participating companies at the end of the workshop.