A £20 million pound investment, two leadership programmes, and a focus on growth, the Government’s plan to help small organisations in the wake of coronavirus was launched on 3 August.
There are two major programmes that the Government’s investment will be used towards, with the intended purpose of building leaderships and problem-solving skills to boost training, management and productivity.
Small Business Leadership Programme
The first programme is the ‘Small Business Leadership Programme’ (SBLP). This 10-week programme is set to help small organisations:
- strengthen leadership skills to better equip their decisions makers’ ability to address management challenges, especially that which has risen from the coronavirus pandemic
- become more confident with the essential qualities needed to better plan for the future of their business
The programme will consist of:
- virtual classes, a series of 90-minute webinars, delivered by university business schools
- classes that teach how to get the most out of their business ‘by improving productivity, organisation and efficiency’
- up to two hours of independent studying a week
- help and support towards learning amongst peers
To be eligible, organisations must:
- be a small or medium sized enterprise based in England
- employ between 5-249 people
- have been operational for at least one year
- be a decision maker or senior member, with at least one individual reporting to them, to participate
- be prepared to commit to the entire programme
Peer Networks Programme
The second programme, the ‘Peer Networks Programme’ (PNP), will focus on offering problem-solving skills, consisting of:
- a series of guided exercises
- sessions focussed on tackling common coronavirus related issues – ‘such as finding new customers and using technology [like] customer record management and websites to adapt a business model’
To be eligible, organisations must:
- be a small or medium sized enterprise in England
- have been operational for at least one year
- have at least five employees
- have a turnover of £100,000 minimum
- aspire for improvement
- ideally have the potential to scale up the business or export
There are currently 2,000 spaces available of the SBLP and 6,000 on the PNP. To register, eligible organisations can use the following links: