Receive up to £6,000 worth of fully funded training to develop new products or services

InnovateUs is a fully funded skills development programme which offers a unique, tailored training solution for small businesses. Funded by the Department for the Economy, the programme's aim is to deliver bespoke training solutions that enable a business to bring an idea to the market through new product, service or process development.

Wednesday 30 August 2017

Receive up to £6,000 worth of fully funded training to develop new products or services

InnovateUs is a fully funded skills development programme which offers a unique, tailored training solution for small businesses. Funded by the Department for the Economy, the programme's aim is to deliver bespoke training solutions that enable a business to bring an idea to the market through new product, service or process development.

Patricia Kearney, Dipping Marvellous, recently undertook 60 hours of training with Belfast Met lecturer Michael O’Toole to help her develop her new range of healthy veggie dip snacks. The training took Patricia through the production of her recipes where Michael showed her how alternative ingredients and cooking processes could be used to create different flavours and textures, whilst still remaining healthy. The product range was then consumer tested to generate feedback on colour, texture and flavour. The results of these tests were analysed and final product recipes developed.

“InnovateUs was a fantastic stepping stone in taking a healthy snack idea I have had for a long time from my home kitchen to a commercial marketplace. The entire programme was fully funded which was a financial lifeline at such an early business stage. Throughout the programme I was able to work with an experienced chef in a commercial kitchen gaining knowledge of new cooking processes, commercial kitchen equipment, health and safety considerations and how to make efficiencies in both production time and ingredient sourcing and costing whilst avoiding common pitfalls. I had fantastic recipe development support throughout but the continuing moral support I received from my professional mentor was equally as important. InnovateUs has been a brilliant way to fast-track my business idea from paper to market and with their help I will hopefully be able to launch my new products very soon!

InnovateUs provides between 10-60 hours of fully funded training to companies with fewer than 50 employees. If you would like more information on the programme, contact us at businessdevelopment@belfastmet.ac.uk and a member of the Business Development team will meet with you to discuss your company’s needs and complete a short skills audit. A bespoke training plan will then be created and delivered to you and/or your employees.

Training solutions are available in a wide range of skill areas, for example, Belfast Met has provided bespoke training solutions around fashion and textile manufacturing, recipe development and upscaling, software development and 3D CAD. The scope is wide - what skills do your company need to innovate and grow?

Wednesday 30 August 2017