Did you know Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs) in Mauritius account for up to 50% of the workforce and play a major role in national economic development? Adversely, this makes them vulnerable to economic fluctuations and market pressure as a result of lack of support in fast-production, technologically advanced, and more efficient foreign competitors.
Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE), Mauritius
11 — 29 November 2019
National partners: Government of Mauritius and the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC).
In partnership with ILO’s, PAGE supported the “Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE)” pilot training in Mauritius. SCORE is an ILO global capacity development program for SMEs, which provides tools for world class manufacturing best practices to ensure that SMEs in national and global supply chains have improved working conditions. The pilot training was targeted towards improving workplace cooperation in optimising operational efficiency, productivity, cleaner production and competitiveness. To ensure long-term sustainability of this initiative, SCORE ‘trained the trainers’ at the NPCC office for best methodology delivery. The event provided an opportunity for SCORE and local SMEs to network, emphasising the need to build capacities that will improve overall competitiveness and productivity at the national and international levels.
IN THE +20 COUNTRIES WITH SMES INVOLVED IN THE SCORE PILOT TRAINING, THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED MORE ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION PROCESSES AND WORKING CONDITIONS.
ABOUT THE SCORE TRAINING
THE PROGRAM UPHOLDS FIVE AXES THAT INCLUDE:
- Teamwork
- quality management
- clean production techniques
- human resources management and
- health and safety at work.
SCORE promotes a unique culture improvement framework based on “respect, trust, and better communication at the workplace” aimed at all internal stakeholders: Management and employees.
During the development of SCORE, consideration was taken on specific contexts of each SME. According to Devs Appalswamy, the Officer in Charge of the NPCC, “the programme is well structured, and it difference is the true fieldwork undertaken, and an adaptation to the realities faced by SMEs.” Furthermore, the training promotes resource efficiency through optimising workers’ skills, as well as managing scarce resources and capital in order to eliminate waste. It advances inclusivity with encouraged participation at all levels: production line workers to CEOs.
In Mauritius, the SCORE pilot training involved the participation of five SMEs, five trainers from NPCC, two SME Mauritius professionals and future trainer candidates who expressed a great eagerness to overcome challenges that undermine their strides towards higher productivity and competitiveness. The introductory training concluded by providing the participants with recommendations and practical steps forward. This incorporated implementing standards and rigorous parameters of the overall SCORE framework to help Mauritian SMEs be at the forefront of national and international markets.
Building on PAGE’s support for piloting SCORE training in Mauritius, the ILO is planning to expand the training through support provided under the Mauritius Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2019-2023 to fully embed SCORE as an independently run and managed national programme.
For more information, visit the ILO’s SCORE webpage here.