Help to Grow - October Cohort

This government-subsidised, 12 week course is aimed at senior leaders of small and medium sized businesses who want their organisation to reach its full potential.

Course Description

Course details
Start date: 9 October 2024
Duration: 50 hours of training over 12 weeks
Fee: £750 (The 12-week programme is subsidised by the government, the University is granting a £750 bursary to any participants completing the program meaning the course is free on completion of the program)
Study mode: blend of online and face-to-face sessions
Location: B175, Boldrewood Innovation Campus

About this course
This government-backed course is delivered in collaboration with industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs. Southampton Business School is Small Business Charter accredited.

The course provides access to learning, mentoring and resilience strategies. We'll give you the tools you need to grow your business, fast.

As part of this course you will:

• receive 1 to 1 support from a mentor
• create a bespoke growth plan to help your business reach its full potential
• learn from peers and network with businesses just like yours
• become part of the alumni network of like-minded business professionals
• build a relationship with a QS ranked global top 100 University for future collaboration

Who this course is for

The course is for business owners, leaders, or senior managers from all business sectors. Charities are not eligible. 

To be eligible, you and your business must:

• be a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) based in the UK that has been operational for at least one year
• employ between 5 and 249 employees (SMEs with more than 10 employees can send 2 delegates)
• be a member of the senior leadership team and have direct reports

Learning and assessment
To get the most out of the course, you must be a senior decision maker. You must also commit to attending all the scheduled learning sessions for the 12 modules.

If you complete all 12 modules you'll receive a certificate of completion and a refund of your fee.

The course gives you an opportunity to learn alongside like-minded business owners. It is delivered with a mix of scheduled online and face-to-face daytime sessions, enabling flexibility alongside your commitments.

As well as 50 hours of in-depth training you'll receive 10 hours of 1 to 1 support from a mentor.

Course modules
The course is divided into 4 parts:

• Part 1: Strategies for growth and innovation: focuses on what your business does and how you want it to develop in the future
• Part 2: Engaging with customers: focuses on why you do what you do, how you connect with your customers and how you effectively convey your values and purpose in your brand
• Part 3: Building a sustainable and agile business: focuses on creating a suitable organisational structure to deliver your goals, and adopting good practice in the leadership and management of teams
• Part 4: Operations and financial strategies: focuses on what happens in the business to create outputs, how you monitor progress and use information to inform decision-making