York St John Business School, which has seen enrolments hit record levels this autumn, is looking for ten North Yorkshire-based firms to share £12,500 of training funds to improve their management skills and position themselves for recovery.
Jackie Mathers, Dean of the Business School, said: “Yorkshire-based start ups, sole traders, micro businesses and SMEs can all benefit from the scheme. It gives them the chance to access some of the region’s most respected leadership management trainers here at York St John – and importantly to share and learn from each other’s experiences of surviving the tough times. What better way to ensure they thrive as the upturn beckons?”
The Economic Challenge Investment Fund (ECIF) was launched by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in January this year to respond rapidly to the needs of employers and individuals during the economic downturn. In total the fund has provided £27 million to universities and colleges across England with £0.6 million available in North Yorkshire.
“Businesses may know about the Enhancement Fund and the Train to Gain initiative, but many are not aware of this extra pot of cash,” said Jackie. “Initially we’re looking for just ten businesses to each find £500 to get the first course underway. Together they will benefit from £12,500 of high quality training, more than half of it funded by the government.
“We will then tailor the training programme to the specific needs of the group, based on our hugely successful ‘Learning through Business Leaders’ programme.
“We’re absolutely committed to businesses in our region and want to give local firms every advantage to succeed. They need to move quickly to access the cash while it is still on offer.”
Anyone interested in the ‘Learning through Business Leaders’ scheme should contact Irma Gomez at York St John Business School on 01904 876 915 or via business.school@yorksj.ac.uk
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For further information please contact Karen Nixon at The Partners Group on
T: 01904 610077 or E: karen@partners-group.co.uk