New training courses are being held in early 2019 by the Dorset Chamber with Government grants available to help businesses succeed in international trade.
The Chamber is holding training sessions and workshops, and offering qualifications to encourage new exporters and support businesses already trading overseas.
Its international trade department will also be holding extra sessions on a monthly basis to tell companies about potential changes to customs declarations and paperwork post Brexit.
Government grants are available to businesses for up to 70 per cent of the cost of training employees to help complete customs declarations and manage export, import and customs processes, or to a limit of £1,050 per person on a course.
Rob Booth, head of international trade services, said: “Despite uncertainty over Brexit, businesses in Dorset continue to look overseas.
“We have had an incredibly busy year with a record number of documents processed, which demonstrates Dorset’s strength in international trade and gives us confidence for 2019.
“The Chamber offers a wide range of international trade services, including workshops for new exporters, qualifications, training and accreditation as well as documentation services.
“We can also provide information about Government grants on offer to help businesses fund training with us, especially in relation to customs declarations and export, import and customs procedures.
“Trading internationally is not as daunting as it may first appear, especially with all of the support available so I would encourage anyone thinking of trading internationally to get in touch to find out more.”
The extra monthly events are aimed at companies who have been trading only with the EU and unlikely to be familiar with the anticipated changes after Brexit, such as customs declarations and additional paperwork. They start on January 15.
Others events in the diary include a New to Export workshop on January 16, an Exporters Forum on January 17, and a Customs Procedures, Preference and Rules of Origin session on January 24.
The Chamber – Dorset’s leading business support organisation – is also running a Foundation Award in International Trade at NVQ Level 2 starting on March 5 and running until June 24.
The Chamber’s international trade team hit a target of processing 10,000 documents in record time in 2018, reaching the milestone in October – 500 more than for the same period in 2017 and up 1000 on 2014. It will have processed an estimated 12,000 documents by the end of 2018.
Dorset Chamber, the county’s voice of business, helped more than 250 businesses export £165m worth of goods in the last financial year.
Its international trade department helps members and non-members with all export requirements – including documentation, checks, customs compliance, payments, training and preparation for AEO accreditation.
The Chamber also offers operational support on a one-to-one basis for companies and hosts the Exporters Forum each month to help companies see the benefits of trading worldwide.
Visit http://demo.ds-demo.co.uk/international-trade/ for more details.