Since the establishment of the Local Enterprise Offices in 2014, they have provided a one stop shop service for people starting and developing their businesses in County Carlow. Now part of Carlow County Council, the Local Enterprise Office Carlow has a significant track record in terms of supporting and developing the enterprise base in County Carlow and developing the Economic Development remit of the County. From basic business supports for Start Up's to the development of Foreign Direct Investment, the Local Enterprise Office provides significant support at operational and strategic level, and to a variety of business interests.

Speaking about the supports of the Local Enterprise Office, Head of Enterprise, Kieran Comerford said “our role in the local enterprise office is to help create an environment where enterprises can develop and grow”. Comerford continued to explain that, in essence, the services were about two things, firstly “opening doors” and secondly “realising opportunities”.

One of the ways that the Local Enterprise Office in Carlow helps people to realise the opportunity of their business is by the provision of subsidized training and development.

Speaking about the Autumn/Winter 2015 Programme Comerford explained that “this season we have redesigned our Training & Development programmes to focus on key strategic development opportunities for companies” , Comerford continued to say that in Autumn , The Local Enterprise Office has over 40 programmes designed with various types of businesses in mind such with programmes such as The Media Toolkit with Gavin Duffy of Dragons Den & Orlaith Carmody , Social Media Strategy Development , Product & Service Photography Masterclass with Engage Ireland, International Networking Opportunities for ICT Companies” to name just a few. Comerford explained that this is addition to the standard programmes on offer from the Local Enterprise Office such as the Start Your Business Programme, Sales, and Marketing & Bookkeeping.

Commenting on the performance of the Local Enterprise Office, Bernie O'Brien – Director of Services said “the Local Enterprise Offices provide a significant return on investment for the business community of County Carlow and client companies who received investment from the offices during 2014 creating over 200 jobs in the Local Economy. I would encourage people to engage with our Team in Enterprise House to discuss their business plans.”

For further information on the services of the local enterprise office log onto www.localenterprise.ie/carlow or call 059-9129783