Table of contents
Table of contents
The UK government’s ‘Help to Grow’ scheme aims to help business get back on track following lockdowns. Mainly targeting SMEs, the scheme hopes to help small business reach new customers, learn more skills, and ultimately boost profits.
Help to Grow is about giving small businesses extra knowledge, skills, and tools to help them grow. It’s a way of upskilling the UK workforce to weather the economic storm we’re all going through.
The £520 million programme is set to help some 30,000 small businesses access advice on going digital as well as management training.
The Treasury has partnered with software companies and business leaders to promote investment in skills and expertise for SMEs up and down the country. The scheme is split into two strands:
Essentially, it’s a 12-week course offering sessions in various parts of the country for small business owners who want to improve their management and strategic skills. Courses are being held at various dates in a range of locations, and aim to help you:
The training itself is administered by a select group of leading business schools throughout the UK, via a combination of face-to-face and online tuition, plus mentor support. The government also fund 90% of the costs, meaning you only need to pay a relatively small contribution of £750.
The government touts it as a one-of-a-kind opportunity to grow your business for long term success. It’s a chance to have both group and 1:1 sessions with top UK business leaders who are willing to share their experience and expertise. These include the CBI, Goldman Sachs, and NatWest, all reaching out to help you reach your full business potential. Download a course brochure to learn more.
Visit the Small Business Charter website to register your interest online. You’ll also be able to check your eligibility, find more course details, and ask any questions using the course contact information.
You must be a senior manager or key decision maker in your business to sign up for the programme, and the business itself must:
The other part of the Help to Grow scheme is Help to Grow: Digital. Having launched in January this year, it offers small businesses advice on how to improve their performance through technology.
Businesses can use the scheme to claim a voucher that gives them a 50% discount on approved software, saving up to £5,000 on the cost of new technology.
SMEs eligible for the grant token must have between 5 and 249 employees and be:
Qualifying SMEs can only claim a grant token for one technology product. So, if your business already has a grant token for customer relationship management software, you can’t also purchase a token for an ecommerce solution at the moment.
Full details of eligibility for the software grant tokens can be found here. To register your interest initially you do have to be a limited company, because the government will find your business’s details using your Companies House number.
I'm fully AAT qualified, with a passion for straightforward bookkeeping. In my spare time you'll find me using my Everton season ticket.
Create your account today, and decide what to do with all the extra time you get back. We hear Pilates is popular.
Live chat support
No card details required
Making Tax Digital compliant
