This study looks at SME spending on training in Northern Ireland. We include a range of human resource management functions, as well as workforce characteristics, the external environment, size, and the impact of changes in ownership status as important determinants of training expenditure in SMEs. Particular attention is also paid to the importance of whether the enterprise is family owned and/or managed. Generally, our results show that HR functions do generally matter however, workforce characteristics other than shift working, ownership characteristics and external factors, and even to some extent size, were much less important than expected. What our results do show is that whether the firm is family-owned/managed is a major factor in determining training budgets in SMEs in Northern Ireland. (Contains 3 tables and 7 notes.)