Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can avail of technical assistance and training programs, including those that aims to reduce or prevent rejects and reworks, and increase their productivity and earnings.

Included in the National Wages and Productivity Commission’s (NWPC) productivity toolbox is the lean management training that provides participants with the basic tools and techniques to create more value for customers while minimizing resources.

This training program also enables companies to identify, assess, and eliminate different types of waste which will help to improve enterprise productivity, quality, and timeliness on delivery of goods and services.

Aside from lean management, other programs under intermediate training on application of productivity technologies based on the need of enterprises for further improvement include ISTIV (Industrious, Systematic, Time conscious, Innovative, and strong Value for work) Succeeding in Business, Green My Enterprise, service quality, retail merchandising, and social media marketing.

MSMEs can also choose training programs in the basic and advanced levels.

This, as the productivity toolbox makes use of the “ladderized approach” in learning and application whereby the training program provided is based on the ability of the enterprises to adopt technology and system improvement.

Basic training includes those on basic concepts on productivity, values, working conditions, and basic business systems.These programs are Productivity 101, ISTIV Values, ISTIV Bayanihan, and 7S of Good Housekeeping –Sort, Systematize, Sweep, Standardize, Self-discipline, Sustain, and Safety.

Advanced training, on the other hand, requires enterprises to be deeply involved and innovative and to be transformed as productivity champions. It covers all aspects of a company’s operation and its supply chain.

Training programs are gainsharing (GS) to encourage entrepreneurs GS initiatives based on productivity. These are service quality for the tourism value chain, Green My Enterprise for the hotel industry, and incentivizing performance.

MSMEs can also avail of technical assistance in designing and planning incentivizing performance schemes based on productivity performance and earnings.

Enterprises which have successfully implemented productivity improvement programs (PIPs) and have continuously adopted productivity technologies are qualified to join the Productivity Olympics, a prestigious competition held every two years.