SMEs in the Scottish region of Forth Valley are being encouraged to enter the Forth Valley Business Awards for 2006.

Categories for the event include best performing business for those with 25 employees or under, most entrepreneurial young company and business in the community.

The winners will be those who can demonstrate future planning concerning expansion and key targets.

In the case of business in the community, SMEs will be required to provide examples of how they are contributing to their surroundings and any environmental policies that they may be pursuing,

Charlene O'Connor, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley, said: "We hope to attract further entries from SMEs through to multinationals in the final weeks before the closing date."

Meanwhile, Scottish Enterprise has recently reported that 16 students have graduated from its telephone banking training course, which will enable them to find work in the financial services sector.

The closing date for the 2006 Forth Valley Business Awards is December 16th 2005. Winners will go on to participate in the Scottish Enterprise Enterprising Scotland Awards later in 2006.


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