Staffordshire Business School has been awarded funding to support 50 microbusinesses to engage with technology to boost their productivity.
The Leading to Grow programme will run from January
As a digital University, this learning is an essential part of our offer to students and we’re delighted to be able to run The Leading to Grow Programme for small businesses in our region who may not have had access to this level of training and expertise.
Staffordshire Business School is part of a consortium of business schools accredited by the Small Business Charter for their expertise in supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs who will deliver the programme. The Leading to Grow Programme will be offered at no cost to microbusinesses across Staffordshire.
Businesses that employ up to nine people will be able to apply to take part in workshops around how to use existing technologies to improve efficiency and profitability.
The funding has been made available through the government’s £8m Business Basics Programme run by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK.
Hazel Squire, Head of Department at Staffordshire Business School, said: “As a digital University, this learning is an essential part of our offer to students and we’re delighted to be able to run The Leading to Grow Programme for small businesses in our region who may not have had access to this level of training and expertise.
“This is in keeping with our Civic University commitment as it will ultimately enable businesses to grow and become more successful and have a positive impact on skills and the region’s economy. The programme will run from January and we are inviting interest from small businesses in our region who fit the criteria.”
Due to the small size and the dispersed nature of microbusinesses, they have not routinely received planned interventions by government agencies. The government is now targeting this type of business due to their potential and readiness to scale-up, and this is the first time that such a programme has been coordinated across the country.
The UK’s 1.1 million microbusinesses employ over 4 million people and contribute £533bn to the UK economy. The business schools, the Small Business Charter and the government hope to make a real impact on this important part of the economy.
Anne Kiem, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said: "We are excited to be working with business schools to help improve the productivity of a range of microbusinesses. The pace of technological advances means that today’s small firms who embrace innovation will be tomorrow’s success stories.”
To join the Leading to Grow Programme, your business must:
- Be a formally registered business (i.e. the business must have a VAT number, or PAYE number, or Companies House registration) which has a trading history of three years or more
- Employ between 1 and 9 people
- Not have participated on a formal programme to raise productivity delivered by a business school in the last 12 months
To register your interest in the Leading to Grow programme, email Eloise White at Staffordshire Business School on Eloise.White@staffs.ac.uk