ESCAP TO OFFER INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT TRAINING TO SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES IN MYANMAR

Press Release
REC/93

ESCAP TO OFFER INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT TRAINING TO SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES IN MYANMAR

BANGKOK, 21 July (UN Information Service) -- Improving the knowledge and skills of small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in Myanmar so that they can more effectively participate in the global economy will be the focus of a management training course to be offered by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), from 24 to 29 July 2000 in Yangon, Myanmar.

The six-day training course is designed to enhance business skills of small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs by focusing on international business and general management issues, and development of specific sectors, including agricultural products, handicrafts, and tourism. The aim is to increase managers’ capacity in marketing, finance, international trade, strategic management, quality control, and production technology, among others areas. An international consortium of business schools and business practitioners will offer the course. Approximately 120 participants are expected to attend.

According to ESCAP, one of the main constraints to the development of the business sector in Myanmar is the availability of adequately trained human resources: managers, financial experts, technical experts, marketing experts, etc. Through strengthening the human resource base, the Myanmar business sector itself can play a more effective role both in expanding the Myanmar economy and in positioning itself for the global marketplace in the twenty-first century.

The ESCAP Management Training Course in Myanmar will serve as a pilot project for a broader human resources development project under ESCAP’s programme for private sector development for Greater Mekong subregion countries through human resource development, institutional capacity building, trade facilitation and investment.

The course is being offered with financial assistance from the Government of Japan, and in collaboration with the Government of the Union of Myanmar, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Institute of Economics, Myanmar, and the Mahidol University, Thailand. The training course will be held at the International Business Centre, Yangon.

For more information, please contact Ravi Sawhney, Director, International Trade and Industry Division, ESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand (tel: 66-2 288 1956, Fax: 66-2 288 1026/1027, or e-mail: trade_inf.unescap@un.org).

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