News | Friday, 16th February 2024
How Manchester Met is driving sustainable business growth for SMEs
Manchester based organisations attended an event to find our how to unlock apprenticeship and business support at Manchester Met.
To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2024 (5-11 February) Manchester Metropolitan University's Apprenticeships and Centre for Enterprise teams joined Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network (GMLPN), to host a special event aimed at helping small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) navigate the apprenticeship and business support landscape.
The informative panel session, chaired by Jonathan Lawson, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Manchester Met, brought together Greater Manchester’s business community of academics, industry experts, and business leaders for networking, and to explore ways small businesses can leverage the opportunities available in the city-region to overcome challenges and drive their business growth.
Liz Gorb MBE, Director of Apprenticeships at Manchester Met demystified apprenticeships for SMEs including off-the-job training, wrap around support and funding available, and how degree apprenticeships are for everyone, regardless of age or experience. For SMEs, apprenticeships can be an innovative way of retaining talent and incorporating difficult skills into organisations to deliver impactful projects as well as support diversity and growth goals. Matt Leigh, Project Manager at GMLPN also shared the opportunities apprenticeships present in driving social mobility, and the shift in society as people see degree apprenticeships as a professional alternative route to their chosen career.
One SME, that has already seen the mutual benefits of offering degree apprenticeships is Ash Rishi, Founder of Couch Health, a Manchester-based, global creative health engagement company. Apprentices now make up 15% of his workforce, with four apprentices, across multiple programmes - digital marketing, creative digital design, and digital user experience. On the panel, he praised Manchester Met for their support, and emphasised how apprenticeships have enabled him to recruit people from diverse backgrounds and ultimately grow his business. Ash's apprentices have been able to apply their learning into the workplace on live projects. Lucy, digital marketing degree apprentice created the company’s new innovative community-facing website as her final project. After her graduation later this year, there are plans to promote Lucy to manager, demonstrating the valuable contributions apprentices make to SME organisations, and the career progression possibilities available to the individual.
Additionally, Jennie Shorley, Academic Director of the Centre for Enterprise and Emma Holt, President of the Commerce of Commerce discussed how there is a need for Greater Manchester organisations to develop soft skills such as leadership, across multiple managerial levels to be effective, and how there is value in spending time away from your organisation to focus on your business aims and objectives. Jennie emphasised how open and powerful universities are in enabling people to come together to overcome business challenges and build industry-leading solutions individually or through specific professional training and development programmes.
Organisations of all sizes and sectors can take advantage of the business engagement services available at Manchester Met. From research and innovation to sustainable business growth and accessing our diverse talent to using our ultra-modern facilities, we have the experience and expertise to help develop your organisation and people.
