New Year, new opportunity to help your business grow

Business leaders throughout Staffordshire are being invited to take part in a practical training programme, working alongside commercial experts to boost business growth.

The Help To Grow Management programme is 90 per cent funded by government and will support senior managers of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to boost their business performance, resilience and long-term growth.

Emily Whitehead, Entrepreneur in Residence at Staffordshire University, is a business coach, who is delivering on the 12-week programme starting on January 19th.

She said: “This comprehensive programme is accredited by the Small Business Charter and will be delivered both online and face-to-face. One of the benefits of this new programme is the one-to-one support from a mentor who will be working with business leaders to develop their growth plans.”

Professor Jon Fairburn added: “The Help To Grow Management programme is really only the start of the story as we can signpost the businesses to other funded support and training available through the University’s Innovation Enterprise Zone.”

Grace Shiel, Sales Director of Minuteman Press in Trentham was one of 80 businesses to benefit from the Small Business Leadership Programme offered through Staffordshire University. She said: “We were given access to knowledge and information in a supported environment which has enabled us to consider what is working, what needs to change and how we can improve.”

To find out more about Help to Grow and eligibility criteria, visit https://www.staffs.ac.uk/business-services/funding/help-to-grow-management

Maria Scrivens

Communications Manager

t: 01782 294375

m: 07766 520339

e: m.c.scrivens@staffs.ac.uk

Staffordshire University is the Connected University; connected to the needs of students, academic partners, business and society. Our main city campus in Stoke-on-Trent features excellent learning and teaching facilities and good transport links. We have specialist Centres of Excellence in Healthcare Education at Stafford and Shrewsbury.  

We were recognised with a Gold award in the 2019 Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) for delivering consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for students.  

We were shortlisted for University of the Year at the THE Awards 2020 and were named ‘Midlands University of the Year’ at the Midlands Business Awards 2020. 
 
Staffordshire University has signed up to the Civic University Agreement, pledging to play a leading role in improving the regional economy and enhancing quality of life in local communities. We were recognised in the top 15 for social inclusion in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021. We aim to be a leading university for digital technologies building on our proud computing heritage and in 2019 launched Staffordshire University London’s Digital Institute which is committed to preparing students for careers in new and emerging tech industries. 

We are a Top 250 Young University (Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2020) and are connected globally, with more than 11,000 people studying Staffordshire University degrees overseas.