Local businesses given ‘help to grow’ by Christ Church Business School

Canterbury Christ Church University is offering its popular, Help to Grow: Management Course in January 2025, and applications are now open.

The 12-week programme, delivered by Christ Church Business School, is specifically designed for business leaders and senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses. It aims to support growth by helping participants develop key leadership skills and create effective strategies across all areas of their business.

The University has successfully run two previous Help to Grow courses, with 25 local businesses taking part.

Kate Keane, Senior Lecturer in Christ Church Business School and Programme Director for Help to Grow, said: “We understand that running a business can be daunting, lonely and at times overwhelming, especially at the moment with the many challenges SME’s face daily. That’s why we are so pleased to offer this beneficial programme to support our local business leaders. We know from our previous participants that this course can deliver dividends to local businesses, helping them to grow and improve leadership skills, as well as provide an opportunity to build a close network of local contacts, which many attendees find invaluable.

“Our local SMEs are at the heart of our region’s economy, providing career opportunities and driving economic growth for the south east. By working together, we can help our local businesses build clear growth action plans and equip them with the tools they need to turn that plan into reality.”

Lisa Young is Business Finance Manager for south east company Lets Do Business. She recently completed the programme and said: “I took part in Help to Grow as my business has ambitious plans to scale and grow, and I was looking for useful tips to help with these plans. I also wanted to do a course with likeminded business owners to share best practices.

“I really enjoyed sessions, in particular those that helped with building our brand; they were engaging and useful. It was definitely worth taking part.”

Technical Director for Dartford based building services consultancy, John Francis MEP, Ashley Phillips, attended the course as he “always wanted to attend a managerial course, work on my personal growth and re-enforce my skills.”

The course is a mixture of face-to-face and online leaning with 12 consecutive weekly modules, as well as access to 10 hours of 1:1 mentoring. By the end of the programme participants will have developed a growth action plan, based on the learnings from the modules which include topics such as strategic planning, employee engagement, finance and marketing.

It is heavily subsidised by the government, who fund 90% of the course, with businesses paying just £750 per person.

For more information and to book your place visit the University’s Help to Grow page Or you can email:htgmanagement@canterbury.ac.uk

Note to editors

Help to Grow: Management Course is open to:

• small or medium-sized enterprise based in the United Kingdom
• any businesses that employ between 5 and 249 employees
• anyone who is member of the senior leadership team or have direct reports.