51Âþ»­

Places are available now on a free 10-week course to support senior leaders of SMEs facing the impact of Covid-19.

Employee wellbeing, building resilience and support with business planning are among the topics covered in the Small Business Leadership Programme, a training course run by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) at 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­).



51Âþ»­’s team of business experts – including academics, mentors and coaches – run the free 10-week programme, which is designed to help strengthen strategic leadership skills and confidence. The course is worth £5,000 but is being delivered free to support recovery.

The SBLP concentrates on boosting business performance in key areas such as innovation, leadership, employee engagement, operational efficiency, financial management, and customer relationships.

The next two courses will launch in January – but businesses can sign up now to save a spot. Registration takes less than 10 minutes and the course is run entirely online, with no pre-course work required.

Dr Dyneshia Johnson, programme director, said: “What we have seen throughout the pandemic is that businesses are looking for knowledge, ways to understand what is happening now, and how they can work in the ‘new normal’.

“The programme is relevant to SMEs throughout Leicester and Leicestershire. Participants will learn from academics who work closely with industry, and from fellow business owners. It’s also a way to network and meet people from other SMEs as you work together on the proigramme.

“It’s a way to help people build back better by learning something new and applying this knowledge within the business to support recovery and growth.”

The Small Business Leadership Programme was launched by the Government to support scale-up business owners or senior managers to develop the confidence and skills they need to survive and thrive during the pandemic. 


To join the programme, your business must be a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME), you must employ between 5 and 249 people and have been operational for at least one year. 

Participants should be a decision maker or member of the senior management team within the business with at least one person reporting directly to them.
 
•    The next two courses begin on January 7 and January 14. To apply, email sblp@dmu.ac.uk