From today small businesses across the Northwest can benefit from free group mentoring to help improve their business performance, as the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) launches the second phase of its Business Mentoring programme.
Designed to help leaders and senior managers of small businesses to develop their leadership and management skills, group mentoring will be delivered across the region by a network of highly experienced mentors. It will enable a group of up to eight clients to meet monthly over a six to nine month period in order to mentor each other by exchanging ideas, experiences and learning with the support of a trained mentor.
Topics covered during the sessions will include leadership development, competency development, creative techniques and a tailor-made ‘role model’ session with a successful business leader or entrepreneur.
The sessions will help group members to improve their business performance through addressing issues currently facing them within a peer mentoring environment and to share their good business practice and techniques, together with their approaches to effective leadership.
Free of charge, group mentoring is aimed at leaders and senior managers of small and micro businesses that have been trading for more than a year, with an annual turnover of less than £500,000 and up to 10 employees.
NWDA Chief Executive, Steven Broomhead, comments:
“We’re looking to develop the next generation of leaders in the region and our quality Business Mentoring programme will help to nurture, guide and develop talent in small businesses across England’s Northwest.
“We’ve had a tremendous response to one-to-one mentoring since the programme was launched last year and group mentoring will give leaders and senior managers of small businesses who might not yet be ready for one-to-one support to receive invaluable help. Group members will collectively support each other, whilst developing and creating innovative ideas in a facilitated environment, so maximising the effectiveness of this mode of delivery in the region.”
The NWDA introduced its Business Mentoring programme in September 2009 with the aim of establishing 3,000 quality mentoring relationships over a three-year period. In addition to the newly launched group mentoring, one to one mentoring is also available, with e-mentoring scheduled to follow later on this year. Part of the Government’s ‘Solutions for Business’ portfolio, the scheme is the largest of its kind dedicated specifically to meeting the needs of small businesses in the region and will deliver high quality mentoring in accordance with a regional quality framework. A number of specialist providers from across the Northwest are responsible for delivering the programme.
Business leaders and senior managers wishing to apply for group mentoring should contact Business Link Northwest on 0845 00 66 888 or at www.businesslinknw.co.uk/mentoring
