Will Taylor, Business Skills Consultant at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, has an update for the Skills Brokerage Programme:
What is the Skills Brokerage Programme?
- We are currently offering a free service meeting with SMEs based within Greater Manchester to produce a Workforce Development Plan
- We have offered this service before to help businesses engage with apprenticeship training, and we can still provide impartial guidance on this, but we are widening our scope to look at how businesses have been impacted by COVID-19 and seeing where we can help get businesses back on their feet
- We can look at your current workforce and identify any skills gaps you may have, say for example if you’ve had staff working in one role, that role may no longer be possible due to COVID-19, so they may be working in a new job, we can help you identify potential training routes for these employees
How has the project been going?
The project has been quite successful so far and we have had a lot of positive engagement from businesses right across Greater Manchester. There has been interest from businesses in a variety of sectors, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale, legal, arts organisations & charities. Moreover, there has also been a wide variety in the scale of the company as well, from sole traders and self-employed people to the larger end of SMEs.
What can people expect from a meeting with Will?
We are currently conducting meetings over the phone or over Zoom or Teams at the moment, although we will start offering face to face meetings over the coming months to mirror government restrictions on social distancing. Meetings usually last between 45 mins to an hour, and this typically starts with some background to the company. This is so I can get a good understanding of how the business operates, who is working in the business, what is working really well for you and then some potential areas that could require some improvement. It’s an opportunity for businesses to come to me with any questions they may have, and either I can hopefully advise on the day, or I can go away and do some research ready to send the information over in the plan we produce afterwards.
We also arrange a follow up call about a month after the meeting to touch in and see how things are going, if any needs have changed, and whether we can make any introductions to different support programmes that may be suitable for the business.
What are the sorts of business needs or common queries that you have been coming across in your meetings?
A lot of the businesses that I have spoken to have had to make some alterations to their operational model due to COVID-19 restriction, as part of this shift in operations many businesses are feeling they could use some support in Digital & IT. Whether this is because staff may be working from home or if tasks they used to do on paper may now be done digitally, business have been seeking support to help with ensuring staff are able to work effectively online. There has also been lots of businesses wishing to work on their digital marketing strategy, as many business owners I have spoken with feel that digital marketing has been an important way of reaching clients over lockdown. Some have been wanting to recruit digital marketers, whilst others have been searching for ways to upskill existing staff to be able to help out with social media comms.
Some of the smaller businesses I’ve spoken with have been wanting support in terms of leadership and management, which now more than ever it is important that leaders are able to strategize and really plan ahead for the recovery period. We have been able to help businesses access this support to enable them to create a solid plan for their businesses to help get through the coming months and working towards achieving any growth plans they may have.
What kind of support has been accessed?
One area of support that has seen a lot of interest is in apprenticeships, whether for existing members of staff or new recruits. The apprenticeships we have been seeing have mostly been around either digital marketing or sales, but there is a wide variety of apprenticeships out there, and at a range of levels as well – most of the apprenticeships we have been processing are at degree level, and can be a perfect way to upskill existing members of staff or recruit at that higher level.
Another point of interest for apprenticeships is working towards chartered qualifications through the apprenticeship route, e.g. Chartered Manager, Chartered Surveyor, as for smaller businesses (wage bill under £3 million) the government co-invests in the training costs of the apprenticeship opportunity and helps to bring the cost of training down for businesses.
Are there any other areas of support for businesses that may not have the resources to offer apprenticeship training?
For businesses that don’t necessarily have the resources to offer apprenticeship training, there are other less time-heavy support options, whether that is executive level business mentoring from mentors with national & global level to help plan for the coming months, or through fully funded short courses for paid employees that can be particularly useful if staff are returning from furlough, or if their job requirements have changed if the business operational model has changed.
We can also advise on available funding, whether this is through the COVID-19 government funding support, or local authority offers, or more specific areas of support such as the GMCVO Social Investment fund for social enterprises.
Which businesses can get involved?
- We are meeting with any businesses that are based within Greater Manchester that have less than 250 staff and a wage bill of under £3million, and that have not previously had a Workforce Development Review with us at the Chamber.
How do businesses find out more/arrange an appointment?
- If you’re a member you can contact your membership executive
- If not, you can email professionalservices@gmchamber.co.uk or call us on 0161 393 4349
- Or click here to register your interest
If you missed Will’s segment on Chamber Live you can find it here.