Manchester Metropolitan University helps boost businesses

The University’s Business School is perfectly placed to offer, in collaboration with industry professions, this 12-week course to teach new skills, helping businesses reach new customers and boost profits – and 90% of the course fees are covered by the Government.

The course is in the government’s ‘Help to Grow: Management Scheme’, which is accredited with the Small Business Charter. The scheme offers an in-depth, high-quality curriculum, delivered only by leading business schools and is designed to help companies recover from the effects of the pandemic and move forward.

It is aimed at senior managers, and designed to help them lead the growth of their business and support them to build capabilities to reach the business’s full potential.

Caroline Gowing, of Pink Spaghetti, was one of the first to sign up for the training scheme. “When you leave this course you will be in no doubt what you need to do to grow your business. You will be able to stand back, spend time and really evaluate what you change will make the biggest impact. Be prepared to put in the time and commit,” she said

Raeesa’s story

Another businesswoman who has benefitted from the course is Raeesa, who after a change in personal circumstances came to work in the family business Towing Solutions Limited, and stepped up to the role of director.

Towing Solutions offer training in trailer servicing, towbar fitting and towing. The business was established in 2000, but Raessa joined the family business in 2008 – the fifth generation to work in the industry. Just before lockdown her dad retired and Raeesa, like many business owners, was forced to shut up shop when the pandemic hit.

“You can’t teach someone how to tow a trailer by showing them a video. Doing it in person is completely different,” she explains. During this period, many of the instructors and other staff also made the decision to leave.

When Raessa got the call about the Help to Grow: Management Course, she knew it was exactly what she needed to bounce back after Covid and make the business better than ever before.

She said the programme helped her focus on growing the business, not just the day-to-day running.

“As a business owner, it’s easy to get bogged down, but it’s given me time to think about the future and where we want to be,” she explained.

The Help to Grow: Management Scheme takes place over 12 weeks. It covers everything from finance to understanding your vision and values. “Branding has been really important. We’ve learnt that actually our main message isn’t about teaching. It’s about safety.”

One-to-one mentoring

The one-to-one mentorship sessions which make up part of the programme have been invaluable to Raessa. She explains, “We meet every Monday. My mentor Helen has won lots of awards and is very knowledgeable.” These sessions have been vital to helping Raessa understand what she wants to get out of the programme. “You get an outside perspective on your business which is useful, especially as the group is so varied, with everyone from entrepreneurs to SMEs with 100 employees.”

Networking with other business owners has been a great opportunity for her too. “It’s interesting to hear people’s ideas. One woman has her own PR agency, another leads a marketing company, so they’ve been able to give me fantastic advice. I didn’t realise it, but I had lost quite a lot of confidence. Not in my business abilities, but when it came to dealing with the continuous knocks we were facing.”

Build resilience

Mandy Parkinson, Project Director and Centre for Enterprise lead at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “It’s more important than ever for senior managers to build their networks and utilise connections in the industry. The ‘Help to Grow: Management’ programme will have long-term benefits for businesses by building capabilities in leadership, innovation, digital adoption, employee engagement, marketing and financial management.

“The last 18 months has brought incredible challenges for small businesses and we are delighted that the Centre for Enterprise within the Business School will continue to do its part to support SMEs on their road to recovery.”

To find out more and to register for the course please click here.