Help to Grow Programme

The Government-backed Help to Grow Management programme is delivered in collaboration with industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs who will provide you with the knowledge, practical skills and accountability to help your business reach its full potential.

Throughout the 12-week programme, you will receive 1:1 mentor support, and take part in interactive webinars and workshops, to help you design and develop a bespoke growth plan that will result in increased productivity, increased revenue and will ultimately help take your business to the next level.

Who is the Help to Grow programme for?

Help to Grow Management is aimed at senior leaders within small and medium sized businesses across Scotland.

Businesses must have been operating for at least one year to participate.

Please note that:

• Charities are not eligible for the Help to Grow programme
• Organisations employing less than 5 employees are not eligible for the Help to Grow programme
• Only one participant per business can join the programme across all providers. If an organisation has ten or more employees, two participants can join the programme across all providers.
• Previous participation in SBLP will no longer be a barrier to participation in HtGM. A business that previously sent a participant on Small Business Leadership Programme (SBLP) will be able to nominate up to two people to participate in Help to Grow: Management, if they have 10+ employees, or one if they have 5-9 employees. 
• Businesses must be based in the UK and must have a registered business address in the UK

Help to Grow at UWS School of Business and Creative Industries

The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has been actively engaged in small business engagement since its inception establishing a reputation as a provider of support for the business community through consultancy, Continuing Professional Development courses and Knowledge Transfer Partnership provision.  UWS has expanded rapidly and now has four Scottish campuses at; Paisley, Hamilton, Ayr and Dumfries with a fifth campus in London.  The University has well established formal units and teams in place to support SMEs at University level and at School level.

The School of Business and Creative Industries (SBCI) has a particular strength in the area of curricular enterprise education and has gained national and international award recognition for innovation in education which has been used to develop a dynamic and effective approach to enterprise education.

Course Content & Timetable

Exploring key areas including Innovation, Digital Adoption, Branding and Operations, participating organisations receive a comprehensive overview of areas that must be considered when developing a growth strategy.

A mix of online and face-to-face sessions at our Paisley Campus offers a highly flexible way to access the training your business needs – in the workplace or from home – whilst accommodating operational requirements and optimising business efficiency.  Participants can engage with the programme without compromising existing work commitments.

The below timetable outlines the key topic areas covered in the programme:

* Please note that this timetable is provisional and subject to change.

Fees and Funding for Help to Grow

The Help to Grow programme is 90% funded by the UK Government. The remaining fee of £750 will be collected by the School of Business and Creative Industries once you have been accepted onto the programme.

Register Now

The next Help to Grow Management course at UWS School of Business and Creative Industries begins on Wednesday 21st September 2022.

Applications to join this cohort will close on Wednesday 7th September at 12pm.

For more information and to register, visit: The Small Business Charter.

Contact Us

If you would like to find out more about the Help to Grow programme, please contact Patrick Afchain, Project Lead at: H2GM@uws.ac.uk