Abstract
The chapter focuses on the provision of education and training for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the Yorkshire and Humberside Universities' Association (YHUA), a grouping of twelve universities and colleges of higher education in the north of England, funded for this purpose by the European Social Fund under provisions to aid depressed regions with Objective 2 status. The assumption of the YHUA scheme was that higher level education and training for the employees of SMEs would provide these SMEs with the resources they require for innovation. With more innovation, they would become more competitive, creating more jobs and more wealth in the region.