Project of the Month March 2003
Individual IT-advising, Networking across Vocational Fields and Tailored Courses. This is in short the contents of a project, from which 40 enterprises of the North, Mid and South Vendsyssel regions are benefiting. One of them is Uni-Fisk A/S of Skagen, where employees are really enthusiastic over the project.
- The project aims to give enterprises an IT-boost via individual advising, individually tailored courses and competence networking, tells John Kjær, Project manager of the TIC Erhvervscenter Nordjylland.
Photo: Nils Krogh
By Naia Bang / Texthuset Aalborg
- It's rare for a projet to identify and cover a need so well. We have been made much more aware of the demands we should make on our IT technology, and we have established networks to other enterprises in the region. We have really got our money's worth.
Guri K. Pedersen is in charge of finance on Uni-Fisk A/S of Skagen, and Anni Winther, her colleague is in charge of payroll and human resources. They both agree that their place of work is benefiting greatly from Uni-Fisk embarking on the VUR-IKON Project under the Digital North Denmark.
The name of the project is made up of two acronyms, namely the VUR for Vendsyssel Udviklingsråd, which together with the TIC Erhvervscenter Nordjylland, were the initiators of the project. IKON is short for IT, Kompetence and Netværk.
- The commitment of the project is to render a boost in IT to the enterprises involved. The project works in three fields: Advisory work, networking groups and staff courses, explains John Kjær, who is industrial consultant in the TIC Erhvervscenter of North Denmark. He elaborates:- The project has appointed two IT-consultants who are doing on site individual consulting in the enterprises. Adding to this we have started up three competence-network groups each with a consultant specialist assigned. The three network groups are working with each their theme: Relations of production, Communication & Networks and Administrative relations. And generally the groups are well attended.
Courses – a Roaring Success
- Last, but not least, the course part has been a roaring success. Before starting up courses, of which the EUC Nord is in charge, the Vendsyssel Uddannelsescenter made a feasibility study among the enterprises to identify the need. Also we asked the employees of each enterprise to state which courses they would like to attend. In the autumn of 2002 we ran 63 courses, and a similar amount of courses are booked for the spring of 2003. Now we are planning the courses for this autumn before the conclusion of the project by the end of 2003, says John Kjær:
- Over the months to come we will be offering all enterprises an IT security check. This is followed up by a line of courses held for persons in charge of enterprise IT security, and a management seminar on IT security.
And, the project manager emphasises, the course package includes no "off-the-shelf items". All courses are arranged with a special aim on the attending enterprises, and there are rarely more than six participants on each course, so everyone will make the most of it.
From Uni-Fisk of Skagen approx. 10 employees have been in training. The courses were attended by staff from sales, administration, production and technical department.
- The courses are generally covering our need for upgrading qualifications within IT – and this has been a great boost to all of us, who might not be fully updated in our IT knowledge. A company like ours is occupied with a load of activitites, says Guri K. Pedersen who is not at all sure that the staff would have been offered training, had this course not appeared.
- And being so few on the courses is great. This makes them very user directed – we were made able to address practical issues from our own daily routines, states Anni Winther.
They can tell you all about herrings at Uni-Fisk A/S in Skagen. However, Guri K. Pedersen (left) and Anni Winther have also gained a comprehensive knowledge in the demands a company should make on a prospect supplier of a new IT-system – not least owing to the colleagues from other companies they met in the competence network groups during the VUR-IKON project.Photo: PF Ajs Nielsen
Helping Each Other Out Across Sectors
Both Guri K. Pedersen and Anni Winther are involved in competence network groups – one in the communication group, the other in the administration group.
- The project hit right into our needs, as we were just facing a total restructuring of our IT-system, when we were approached by the VUR-IKON people. And during the meetings of the network group it quickly turned out that several other companies were coping with the same problems. Also some of them had made experience – for better or worse – for us to benefit from once we will be making the final decision in replacing our IT system, points out Guri K. Pedersen, and Anni Winther adds:
- We have made great progress in our understanding and knowledge of IT since we joined the project. For one thing we have learnt not to plunge into an investment of this calibre before making thorough preliminary analyses, a project plan and a time schedule – and here the IT consultants have been good at helping us avoid the pitfalls.
Value for Money
The project is financed by the Digital North Denmark, Vendsyssel Udviklingsråd (The Development Council of Vendsyssel), EU – via funds for Objective 2 - Nordjyllands Udviklings Fond (The Development Fund of North Denmark), the TIC Erhvervscenter Nordjylland – and the enterprises involved. The enterprises are paying DKK 10.000 annually to be on the project.
- We are really getting our money's worth. Imagine what it would have cost us to hire an IT consultant and have 10 employees in training and what not, states Guri K. Pedersen.
Also Ole Albæk, Manager of the Vendsyssel Udviklingsråd finds that the VUR-IKON has made value for money:
- I believe that with this project we have reached a long range of small and medium-sized enterprises that would take up IT at some point of time anyway – but with this project we accelerated that development by giving them an IT boost. Along with this the project has created an effect of synergy that will go far beyond the life of the project – and beyond the individual enterprises. It has been a signicant boost to the nine municipalities of the Vendsyssel Udviklingsråd as this is an enhancement of the competitive power of the enterprises which will hopefully rub off on employment rates, states Ole Albæk.
He is praising the TIC Erhvervscenter Nordjylland for its knowhow and capability of organising the project. And he is dedicated to putting the experience made in this project to use as the base for a new similar project – hopefully for other enterprises in North- and Mid-Vendsyssel – in 2004.
Read more about the VUR-IKON on the website of the project on www.vur-ikon.dk - or on www.thedigitalnorthdenmark.dk.
- I believe that our nine membering municipalities will be experiencing a positive synergy effect from the VUR-IKON project, says Ole Albæk, Manager of the Vendsyssel Udviklingsråd.
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