Enterprise skills and innovation (Dimensions 8a and 8b) in Eastern partner countries

Skills and innovation are crucial drivers of firm productivity and SME growth in today’s knowledge-driven economy. Principle 8 of the Small Business Act provides the framework for analysing and evaluating innovation and enterprise skills policies in two areas. The first, building enterprise skills, has seen moderate progress since the 2012 assessment. National training needs analysis has been introduced and training to SMEs has been expanded. EaP countries now need to focus on sharpening SME training and support policies and institutions, including data collection, monitoring and evaluation, and quality assurance.