REGENERATION body the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) is funding a £5m skills drive for small businesses.
The agency’s three-year programme will offer leaders and senior managers of small and micro-businesses the chance to access free mentoring to support their efforts to grow their businesses.
Mentoring will be demand-led and will be delivered in line with a regional programme aimed at providing high-quality expertise.
Support packages will last between six and 12 months, depending on the nature of support and skills required. The programme is part of the Solutions for Business scheme, the Government’s package of business support products.
About 1,500 voluntary links with businesses will be established over the next three years through a range of highly-qualified and experienced mentors.
Combined with a wider programme that will include group and e-mentoring and support, a total of 3,000 mentoring relationships will be established across the region.
NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead said: “Mentoring is a key element of the Agency’s Leadership & Management Framework for Action.
“We understand that, by helping businesses to invest in the development of their leaders and managers, we can help create robust and competitive businesses that will ultimately contribute significantly to the economic success of England’s North West.”
The first mentoring packages will begin to be rolled out this month to small businesses that have been trading for more than 12 months and have less than £2m of turnover a year.
This will be delivered by seven providers across the region, including the Business Venture Group, Community & Business Partners, Designated Associates, Enterprise4All, G&M Associates, LeaderGen and Urquhart Partnership.
The NWDA is spearheading the economic development and regeneration of the region, and has responsibility for supporting business growth and encouraging investment, matching skills provision to employer needs, creating the conditions for economic growth, connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure and promoting the region’s quality of life.