Research into Help to Grow: Management
Help to Grow: Management was launched in May 2021 and was designed to help small business leaders develop leadership skills that would enable them to increase profitability, innovation and achieve growth.
More than 60 business schools now deliver the course across the UK to business leaders and senior managers across every industry. The course is available to any decision-maker in an organisation with a headcount of between 5 and 249 people and consists of 12 modules.
Data gathered by the UK Government shows that between June 1st, 2021, and February 28th, 2023, the Help to Grow: Management Course has been most popular with businesses with 10-49 people. While a wide range of sectors have engaged with the course, ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘Other Services’ lead the way in uptake so far with 14% and 16% respectively.
Across all regions in the UK, there has been an uptake by small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Small Business Charter-accredited business schools. Notably, London has seen the largest percentage of attendees and makes up 17% of all signups, while the North-West, Yorkshire & Humber and the South East make up 11% each.
Encouragingly, the UK Government found that the course is popular amongst often under-represented demographics. 15% of participants identified as an ethnic minority, which is significant given that only 5% of UK SME leaders identify as such. On top of that, 31% of attendees were women which is a much larger proportion than the 16% who make up the UK SME owner space.
Age was not a barrier for the course either, 20% of participants surveyed were between the ages of 50 and 65 while a third (27%) are aged between 25-34.
What do participants make of Help to Grow: Management?
Most importantly, business leaders are pleased with the content, peer networking, and mentorship that they are getting from the course. An independent evaluation by Ipsos and the Institute of Employment Studies found that 91% of participants would recommend Help to Grow: Management to other business leaders.
Reflecting on how the course impacted them, 90% of SME leaders said they were satisfied with how Help to Grow: Management was delivered from start to end. 89% of attendees shared what they learned on the course within 6 weeks of completion, and 70% said they had greater confidence in leading and managing their business. The same percentage claimed that their efficiency and internal processes improved because of Help to Grow: Management.
Impressively, 63% said they have all the skills they need to lead their business over the next three years and an impressive 89% said as a business leader they feel they can achieve their goals even if there are obstacles.
Interestingly, the Ipsos evaluation also asked about course expectations. The driver for attending the course is as much about personal growth as company-wide productivity:
80% wanted greater confidence in leading and managing their business
79% were searching for improved leadership and management skills
78% aimed to have increased awareness of factors that drive business productivity
The statistics show the positive impact of the course and are supported by first-hand testimony. Andrei Ceteras, Managing Director of Surrey-based care provider MedUKCare, completed the course at Kingston Business School. He said ‘I owe a lot of my company’s success to the Help to Grow: Management Course. I managed to double my workforce from 5 to 10 people and increase my revenue by 250% in 1 year.’
You can find out more about the Help to Grow: Management Course here.
