Press Release: Businesses Lose Out Due to Lack of Web Presence – The Digital Hub - 01/07/10

Businesses Lose Out Due to Lack of Web Presence – The Digital Hub

– Launch of New Project Aimed at Getting Ireland Online –

Businesses throughout Ireland are losing customers every day because they have not embraced digital technologies. That's according to Dr. Stephen Brennan, Director of Marketing and Strategy, speaking today (01.07.10) at the launch of a new project aimed at getting Irish businesses online.

The WebActivate project – an initiative of the Digital Skills Academy – is supported by The Digital Hub, as well as Chambers of Commerce and Further Education institutions throughout Ireland. The project is being run as part of the Labour Market Activation Fund 2010, funded by the Department of Education and Skills and the European Social Fund.

Speaking at the project's launch today, Dr. Brennan said there are at least 30,000 businesses in Ireland that need to get online in order to compete effectively in the 21st Century marketplace.

''It's shocking to think that thousands of small businesses still don't have a web presence,'' said Dr. Brennan. ''For Ireland to trade its way out of recession this situation isn't acceptable. Unless Irish businesses wake up to the reality that more of their potential consumers now expect an online service, they are going to continue to lose out in competitiveness terms.

''Recent research shows that when Irish consumers go online to look for a product or service, 70 per cent of them fail to find what they’re looking for in Ireland. This compares to less that 10 per cent in the UK. Irish people spent over €2.1 billion online in 2009, but most of this went outside the country. Our indigenous small businesses have yet to wake up to the growing importance of being online.

''Personally, as I live in a border county, I see at first-hand the business being lost every day. The first thing most people do today when they want to find something is go on the internet. But if a restaurant, shop or leisure facility doesn’t have an online presence, then how are you to know they're there?

''This situation could be addressed by businesses taking simple steps such as setting up a basic web presence with, for example, their contact information and product or service information. Their next step might be engaging with customers through free social media tools. If we all embrace the internet and simple digital technologies more, we will become a more competitive economy.''

In addition to getting Irish businesses online, the WebActivate project also aims to create employment for hundreds of people throughout the country. Paul Dunne, Director of the Digital Skills Academy, said 200 people who are currently unemployed would be given training and work placements in the initial phase of the project.

''We are inviting people who are currently unemployed to apply to take part in an 18-week training programme in digital skills,'' said Mr. Dunne. ''They spend six weeks receiving 'in-centre' training and the remaining 12 weeks on structured work placements, building websites for small businesses involved in the project and helping them to establish an online presence. It's a win-win situation for all involved: for the course participants, they get digital skills and valuable work placement opportunities; for the businesses, they get themselves online, free of charge.''

The WebActivate project is currently recruiting both trainees and businesses. The training programme will begin in August in a number of locations throughout Ireland, with trainees commencing their work placements within small businesses from late September onwards. To find out more about the project, or to apply to get involved, go to: www.webactivate.ie.

ENDS

Contact: Martina Quinn, DHR Communications, Tel: 01-4885808 / 087-6522033