Minutes of Meeting of the EDF Sub-Committee for export on Friday 22 May 2009 from 10.00am – 11.30am

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Present:               Bill McGinnis (Chair)                                     Sam Butler (Sam Bulter PR)
                             Ann McGregor (NICC)                                Sandra Beattie (NICC)
                             Brendan McGurgan (CDE Ireland)               Tony Simpson (DETI)
                             Mark Nodder (Wrightbus)                           Vicky Kell (Invest NI)
                             Patricia O’Hagan (Core Systems)                                             
Apologies:          Ger Connery (Sentel)                                     John McGrillen (Down District Council)


  • Welcome

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the second meeting of the EDF sub-committee set up to consider actions to prioritise barriers to export.

  • action points & Matters arising from last meeting

Action points from the previous meeting were accepted as a true and accurate account of the business transacted.
Proposed: Bill McGinnis                                              Seconded: Sam Butler

2.1          MATTERS ARISING
The following update was provided as matters arising not on the agenda.

It was noted that the survey had been distributed and analysed.  Two meetings were held with Invest NI.  It was noted that other action points were on the agenda.

  • Survey Report Presentation

Sandra Beattie presented the findings of the survey designed to prioritise barriers to export.

The survey was distributed to the membership of three of the Business Alliance organisations.  There was an 8% response rate. The sample of 135 companies was broken down as follows: NICC Membership – 66%, IOD Membership – 27% and CBI Membership – 7%.  

Of the 135 respondents 79% classed themselves as exporters with 21% in the non-exporter category.

The survey identified two main barriers to exporting:

    • Cost of entry in terms of finance and management resources
    • Lack of information on market opportunities (pre-export activity)

In general the survey indicated a good awareness of Invest NI support programmes.  The best known is the nibusinessinfo.co.uk web portal, which had the highest awareness at 66.7%.  Knowledge was weakest about the graduate placement programme (49.1% aware) and in-market support (50%) and knowledge of the export skills workshops (63.1%), market research schemes (63.4%) and the market visits programme (57.8%) was reasonable.

The study would suggest that there is a general awareness of the mainstream export programmes, particularly those offered by Invest NI.  However, there exists a lack of detailed knowledge of specific programmes and how these can be adapted by companies to suit their specific requirements.   Overall, there is a need to raise the profile significantly on export support services particularly among smaller companies.

The Chairman thanked Sandra for the overview and invited the committee members to comment.

  • Action plan Discussion

A round table discussion took place and the following general points were raised:

  • The majority of respondents were SMEs, and it is assumed the 10 from CBI were bigger companies
  • Focus needs to be on improving SMEs, government is interested in this sector
  • Need exporters who inspire and motivate – case studies
  • Graduates – the schemes are there but no one to take forward. 1400 Queen’s graduates – employ these graduates as part of Job Seekers
  • Grant aid to companies for taking graduates on
  • Business Improvement Agency scheme – assistance with costs
  • Key is to maximise what is already there in terms of graduates – subsidised Vs paying off current staff (the case for many companies)
  • Export – is there gaps?
  • GAP – 495 companies applied for the scheme need a turnover of £100,000 – existing INI clients have received an average grant of £25,500
  • “Pull people through to export”
  • Need to focus on one to one
  • Pull through out of current LEA programme – an exporter’s starter kit
  • Gap PR campaign required
  • On base level – Go for IT: see potential, pull through to begin exporting, end up client companies
  • Awareness of support – need a brand for export
  • Meet the Buyer combination with hand holding
  • Buddying up – break out of Ballymena, mentor support, encourage mentors through CSR
  • Staged approach to export – through the whole business pipeline
  • Feeling of too many programmes – is it a case of adding to programmes
  • EU funding is an issue – there are limits
  • Sign posting key
  • Inspiring existing exporters to act like a big brother
  • Model – Spring Board/Connect/education/raising awareness
  • Graduate for a year (fast track – Fusion takes a long time) – product development for export (KTP)

 

After further discussion the sub-committee recommended five priority areas and suggested actions such as:

  • Lack of Awareness of Existing Support:

Action: Increase Awareness of Existing Support amongst local companies and export stakeholders and in doing so change perceptions of support accessibility.  This can be achieved by:

  • High profile export focussed advertising campaign, with strong brand in the style of ‘Go for It’. 
  • Effective signposting through engagement of stakeholders and briefing on the full range of export support available.
  • Building on the existing relationships between Invest NI client advisers and the trade services team.

 

  • Gap in support at pre-export level

Action: Address the gap in-support through a pilot programme aimed at getting non-exporting companies and inexperienced exporters to the fully-fledged ‘export ready’ stage.  The premise of this programme is to provide:

  • Promotion & case studies.
  • Company review & action plan.
  • One to one ‘how to’ consultancy.
  • Access to mentor support.
  • Training and assistance in initiating the very basics of export activity.
  • Signposting to Invest NI Export Skills and Knowledge Workshops and other export support programmes.

 

  • Need for Graduates to Focus on Product Development for Export

Action: Support companies through the credit crunch by supporting the financial elements of the existing graduate placement programmes INTRO and E2.  This would involve:

  • Exploring further short term support for programme related fees and salaries (subject to rules covering wage substitution)

 

  • Cost Associated with Entry into Export Markets

Action: There is a need to look at options that could be put in place to financially assist companies in new market entry.  Options include:

  • Invest NI to continue to improve turnaround on claims.
  • Promotion of GAP.
  • Increased budget for GAP/extension of funding if applicable

 

  • Market Opportunity Information and Expertise

Action: Companies would like more support in identifying market opportunities.  This could be achieved by:

  • Introducing more programmes similar to the successful ‘Going Dutch’ programme.
  • Invest NI allocating more staff in sales opportunity identification within markets.
  • Considering how business can accessing INI library on line across NI.

 

                It was agreed that NICC would prepare an action plan report for circulation and final agreement.

  • Any Other Business

No other business was raised.

6.0          Date and Time of Next Meeting