Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important in all economies in the world and in assuring employment. They are not "microcosms" of larger ones so previous research on large firms is often inappropriate for them. Due also to limited resources, daily pressure and other factors, human resources (HR) practices in SMEs are often unplanned and reactive, followed by informal and on the job training which do not sufficiently contribute to SMEs competitiveness.

Another problem referring is that due to the increasing of levels of immigration in Europe and an expanding European Union, they have to adapt to operate with a heterogeneous workforce and this requires adequate measures and approaches but brings also competitive advantages.

The paper presents some approaches to improve the impact of education and training for SME competitiveness. The hypothesis is supported by literature and/or project results coordinated or worked by author.