Small company, big opportunities

Entrepreneurs who focus on the development of their companies are eager to invest in human capital. They are aware that it is a long-term investment that usually brings good business and strategic results. Skills improvement, staying ahead of the competition and searching for new solutions and technologies (the most difficult of all three) strengthen the company's position on the market. However, for many employers, there is one obstacle: cost they have to bear in the name of future benefits. Trainings, courses, workshops and counselling are not cheap. Depending on the type of service, the costs range from several hundred zlotys to several thousand. It’s no secret that a great number of micro, small and medium- sized businesses simply cannot afford it. Then it is crucial to obtain funding from external sources. And EU funds are here to offer a wide range of possibilities.

Within the framework of the project "Development assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises in the Silesian Voivodeship", entrepreneurs can obtain from 50 to 80% grant for a training or course from the Development Services Database of their choice. The amount of the grant depends on the number of employees taking part in the trainings and may amount to as much as PLN 100 thousand.

Micro-businesses choose very different trainings directly related to their needs. The beneficiaries include the representatives of the beauty industry, who are very eager to raise their qualifications, because in cosmetology every innovation is a chance to win new customers. There is also a great demand for sales trainings and business language trainings but niche workshops, such as microscopic diamond processing, happen as well.

Upper Silesian fund is currently implementing three training projects with a total value of PLN 250 million. “The Development Assistance for SMEs in the Silesia Voivodeship” has the largest scale, budget and number of participants. So far, 5,800 companies and 21,000 employees have benefited from the support.

I started my professional career in jewelry 40 years ago. I was interested in art since I can remember. Persuaded by my friend, I started looking for a studio where I could learn more about the secrets of jewelry art. It wasn't easy. But eventually I found a studio run by Jerzy Kurczok. Every day, for three years, I had a chance to learn more and more about the craft of making gold products. I also completed a course to become a jewelry appraiser. The work was demanding. At that time each element was created manually, we even sawed and chiseled stone bindings with our own hands. It was only twenty years later that we started using the foundry.

In 1992 I founded my own jewelry studio. Although jewelry is an old-fashioned profession, I have always been open to new technologies and ready to experiment. That's why I decided to take part in a training project involving designing jewelry in the increasingly popular 3D technology. I completed the course thanks to EU support. The knowledge and skills I have gained have shown me that the combination of casting technology and 3D design gives incredible possibilities to create a great variety of jewelry patterns.

I make jewelry with natural ornamental stones imported from all over the world. I still make silver jewelry by hand. However, in the case of gold and gemstone products, I use 3D designs and printouts. This is due to the scale of difficulty, precision and material limitations. Thanks to participation in the biggest jewelry fair in Eastern Europe, my jewelry is available in galleries in different parts of the world.

When running a company in the art and craft industry, it is worth taking advantage of professional trainings, which not only broaden creative possibilities, but also allow to create new products and reach new customers. Trainings cannot replace skills or talent, but they will definitely help to spread wings and discover the unknown.