A new €350,000 training fund has been established to enable private sector companies to address their skills needs.

Skillnets, the national agency responsible for funding and supporting training networks, said the new scheme would allow a group of businesses from the same region, or specialising the same sector, to collectively apply to develop a network and draw down funding support for training.

Businesses of any size, from a sole trader to a multinational are able to apply and the fund will also be open to existing industry bodies or enterprise groups.

"The economy is now in recovery mode and many businesses are moving from a hand-to-mouth approach to looking towards growth and expansion. Having the appropriate skills, including addressing future skill needs to deal with expansion, is vital for sustainable development. Skillnets is pleased to announce a new call for Skillnets training networks so that enterprises emerging from the downturn can be assisted in skills development," said the agency's chief executive Alan Nuzum.

Skillnets operates under a joint investment model whereby participating training networks can receive up to 50 per cent of the cost of training with the remainder of costs funded in cash contributions from participating companies.

The agency has announced two funding call deadlines - March 23rd and July 31st.

Skillnets currently supports 57 training networks in Ireland across a wide range of sectors including IT, food and even animation.

Further information on the training fund can be found at skillnets.ie