Enterprise Europe Network offers entrepreneurial skills training for small businesses

A series of 12 fully funded workshops have been developed specifically to support new business owners who would like help to build their first business model, or those who would like to ensure their planned business model is robust.  It is also aimed at small businesses that would like to launch a new innovation within an existing business, those that would like to pivot their existing business and those business owners who are in a position to start a second or third business.

Delivered by experienced Enterprise Europe Network Innovation Advisers, who are certified trainers in these workshops, the curricula has been developed, licensed, taught and accredited by School for Startups.  The workshops start with three intensive business modelling workshops that are designed to focus on a company’s value proposition, business model development, testing and refining their business model. These three, one day workshops, should be completed together as a self-contained course (they are on consecutive Mondays). The remaining workshops can be selected separately according to companies’ individual requirements. They include workshops on the following topics, marketing & sales, organisation and people, finance and capital and structure and risk management.  Please see below for a full list of workshops and dates.

Roger Hetherington, Senior Innovation Adviser at Enterprise Europe Network said “Taking part in these workshops will undoubtedly give leaders of small businesses the opportunity to reassess and address some of the fundamental aspects crucial to success.”

School for Startups was selected to develop core curricula in specific areas and to train selected experts from the Enterprise Europe Network in the delivery of this content to small businesses. The curricula has been developed, licensed, taught and accredited by School for Startups, with a range of learning objectives aimed at enhancing the “entrepreneurial skills” of innovative Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Part of the SME Growth Support programme, provided by Innovate UK, which offers access to coaching, mentoring, training, connections to wider support and to investors, the Entrepreneurial Skills Training Workshops are delivered through organisations with specialist expertise in business growth.

Evidence from a detailed pilot study, from academic research and from extensive consultation with accelerator and incubator programmes, as well as with innovative SMEs themselves shows that enhancing their “core business competencies” can accelerate their growth.

All workshops are relevant to SMEs; young companies starting out and established companies that are growing.  Depending on the stage of the company, different team members may be suitable for different courses.  Apart from the first three, workshops may be selected individually, but SMEs will benefit from attending the whole programme.  The first three Intensive Business Modelling workshops should be undertaken by the business’ core team (founders or senior leadership team) for maximum benefit.

Entrepreneurial Skills Training workshop details in the East of England are as follows:

Location: St Johns Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 OWS

Time: all workshops are from 9:30am-4:30pm (lunch and refreshments included)

Booking: call 0300 303 4803 or email [email protected]

For more details about the workshops, please see the events section of our website Enterprise Europe Network Website.