Former business minister Ivan McKee has highlighted the importance of supporting Scotland’s community of small businesses in order to protect future economic stability.
The Glasgow Provan MSP addressed chief executives and senior managers from some of Scottish SMEs at an event organised by the Small Business Charter.
Business leaders gathered at Trades Hall of Glasgow, hearing from Alisdair Gunn, director of the Glasgow City Innovation District, and Julie McFarlane, founder of Academy for Enterprise Education, on ways to keep employees motivated while working more adaptively to meet evolving demands.
Delegates also heard from professor Adrian Furnham, an organisational psychologist and consultant, who gave advice on how to become a better and more resilient business leader to keep employees engaged in their roles.
Building an entrepreneurial mindset was also a core theme of the day, addressing the psychology of management, teamwork and motivation.
Scottish SME leaders from a variety of different sectors attended the event, but all had one thing in common; they were all graduates or current participants of the Help to Grow: Management Course. The 12-week programme is designed to help business leaders and their senior managers to increase resilience, innovation and growth within their organisations.
McKee said: “Growing and supporting Scotland's SME sector is critical to our future economic success.
“Building relationships with your peers and the wider SME community is an invaluable tool, so it was great to see first-hand how this works with Help to Grow: Management Alums.”
The 90% government funded course is designed to fit around existing work and personal commitments, providing business leaders with more than 50 hours of online and in person training including 10 hours of one-to-one mentoring.
It is delivered by Small Business Charter accredited business schools. 320 SME leaders had finished the course by February 2023 across six Scottish universities, including University of Strathclyde, University of the West Scotland, Heriot-Watt University, Robert Gordon University and University of Stirling.
Individuals completing the course automatically join the Alumni Network, where they have access to content and partner offers, support of a UK-wide peer network, and entry to exclusive events.
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