20/12/2008 by admin.

New figures show that trade is down for rural businesses  The FSB )Federation of Small Businesses) expressed concern that rural businesses are becoming the silent victims of the credit crunch this Christmas. Most rural businesses have seen trade fall this year with four out of five saying the Government isn’t helping them out of the downturn. In a survey of almost 500 FSB members whose businesses are based in rural areas, nearly 60 per cent said they were expecting their Christmas trade to be down on this time last year.  Confidence in the future is also at a low with more than eight in ten small businesses in rural areas saying they do not feel better placed to weather the downturn following November’s Pre-Budget Report.  The FSB is calling for a series of measures to help small businesses in rural areas that could provide a much needed stimulus to local towns and villages across the country. Our proposals include: 

• Free parking for all towns and villages during the Christmas shopping period;
• Scrapping fuel duty rises planned for April 2009;
• Ensuring a substantial proportion of the £7 billion made available by Government for small firms is actively promoted to rural based businesses; and
• Real Commitment by Government to deal with long term problems such as lack of transport infrastructure and poor access to services.

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14/12/2008 by admin.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT – FINDING THE POWER IN PARTNERSHIPS

Since the Budget Report from the Chancellor and in that were the promises of certain measures in support of small business. If we needed any indication as to the growing publicly expressed value Government is putting on small businesses, we need look no further. A £1 billion support fund is being put on the table. The ideas and drive for this came significantly from the FSB whose policy team is working with the Treasury to ensure that delivery will be effective.

As a member of the South East Economic Delivery Council sitting with the Regional Minister and Senior members of the Development Agency and Government Office, I know at first hand the concern that is driving very serious moves to support small businesses.

That of course is only part of it, the rest is up to us, we have to innovate and build positions of strength to ride the storm. In my day job, as a marketing consultant for over twenty years for a major player in door and window hardware manufacture, I understand the way the industry works and the ways in which we have to formulate new approaches to business development. Part of the Government solution is to ensure that the construction industry does not suffer, it can stimulate the sector by maintaining the best levels of housing and public works possible. In public sector procurement, there are many hoops that have to be jumped through to win contracts. The FSB is lobbying hard for simplification of the Pre Qualification Questionnaires for one thing, but you will have to ensure that you have all the facts and figures required at your fingertips with your policies in place, that includes essentials such as Quality Management, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities, Environmental Management and nice to haves such as Diversity Policy, Sustainable Procurement and an Ethical Policy.

Looking at these policies, one that is rapidly emerging is that relating to environmental issues. Being green is a growing demand from the public contracts and indeed from private purchasers as well, although here nothing can beat best value. This is where we all need to have policies in place collectively, for example in the window fabrication industry where fabricators especially need to look to strong reliable partnerships that can help them assemble the required evidence right through the supply chain. Manufacturers are achieving accreditation in the various standards, but in a bid for public work, it has to be demonstrated from top to bottom. So for a window fabricator you will have to look to your profile, hardware, glazing manufacturers, even the spacer bar, to play their part. However when it comes to meeting standards such as for Energy Efficiency, only the window fabricator can achieve this, as it is the assembly of all the components within the fabrication process that counts. All these are the drivers leading to quality partnerships and collaboration which surely must be the way forward.

Roger House, Managing Director of Big Solutions Ltd and SE Policy Chairman FSB.

www.big-solutions.co.uk  www.fsb.org.uk

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14/12/2008 by admin.

Diplomas go to work 

One of the most exciting elements of the Diploma curriculum is the access it will provide for young people to high-quality work experience.  However, this new approach poses a number of significant challenges for all those involved in Diplomas.

To help provide guidance and inspiration for all those now delivering Diplomas – and those who are planning to start offering them in 2009 – Education Watch has spoken to Education for Enterprise in Kent, which is working closely with Consortia in Kent and other areas in the South East to co-ordinate structured work placements for Diploma students in the area.  Focusing initially on the Creative & Media Diploma, Education for Enterprise will soon also be supporting Consortia offering several other Diploma lines.

Relieving the pressure

A valuable resource for Consortia grappling with the challenges of delivering Diplomas for the first time, organisations like Education for Enterprise can provide comprehensive support and useful links between Consortia and business.  Thanks to its direct access to local businesses, it can free up teachers’ time to focus on delivering the breadth of the new curriculum in the classroom, while Education for Enterprise looks after the potentially time-consuming task of finding relevant businesses to work with. 

Roger House, Managing Director of Education for Enterprise CIC, has more than 30 years’ business experience.  Roger says, “The prospect of approaching employers about work experience can be intimidating for some teachers, and co-ordinating the approach can be very time-consuming – just as they are familiarising themselves with the broad content of the new Diploma curriculum.  Many teachers are looking for help to recognise which businesses have the right qualities to work with Consortia.  They also want advice about how to use the business’ time effectively to make sure the partnerships are sustainable.”

But help is on hand.  As Regional Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Kent and Policy Chairman for South East England, Roger has a deep understanding of employers’ needs and what’s needed to encourage them to engage with Consortia in their area.

Adding value for all

With around 90% of UK businesses comprising Micro or Small Enterprises (MSEs), this army of entrepreneurs can offer young people a vital insight into commerce.  

“The vast majority of UK enterprise is made up of small businesses rather than large multinational organisations, and it’s important that we engage effectively with the small business community. This requires improved communication from schools and an understanding of the costs involved for the businesses that engage with Diplomas,” says Roger. 

“We hope that the Diploma curriculum will give young people with a clearer understanding of a typical workplace in action,” he continues.  “Well-structured work placements will help young people start building a strong work ethic that prepares them for their future careers – and that is good news for business.”

Roger believes the key challenges of the work placement elements of the Diploma curriculum lie in making the interaction between business and young people a valuable and worthwhile experience for all parties.  He comments:

“Those young people with a positive attitude to their work placements, who are keen to make a difference in the workplaces they visit, will clearly benefit the most from this element of the Diploma.  But many young people who haven’t visited businesses previously will feel unsure about how they can add value during their work placements.”

To help prepare young people for work experience, organisations like Education for Enterprise host workshops in schools.  “We aim to help young people start thinking about how to make the most of work experience placements before they arrive on their first day,” comments Roger.  “They really appreciate being given practical tips on how they can add value to the organisations they visit, so they can make the most of their experience.”

The measure of success

Roger believes that Diplomas have the potential to change the way employers recruit in future, and create parity on the perception of the value of academic and vocational qualifications.  However, he adds:

“These are exciting times, but the introduction of Diplomas won’t automatically change perceptions or alter employers’ approach to recruitment.  To make this happen, we need to work together to communicate at every opportunity the value of Diplomas and work experience placements to business.  The sign of success will be employers signing up to participate year after year – this will show their clear recognition of the opportunities that the work placements offer, both for young people, and for UK plc. We hope to see other benefits too, such as employers taking on more Apprentices.”

For more information visit www.smallbusinessambassadors.co.uk or email info@smallbusinessambassadors.co.uk

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14/12/2008 by admin.

The pressures coming from government in its strive to modernise and redefine the way our young people are taught may be exciting and vital routes to improving achievement, but has the process really been thought through as regards the demands these new Diplomas put on business? 

Diplomas in my opinion offer a very interesting route to learning. For the first time there is a definite link between the academic and the vocational teaching elements, apart from the Apprenticeship route. Business has been crying out for better literacy, better numeracy and better soft skills – attitude, timekeeping and communications skills. With the Diplomas we have a process that sets out to link business with school and college as an integral part of the process. Where it also leads to is direct work experience for students which have been proven to be a vital element in the learning process, providing a “glue” to knowledge retention and as an inspiration to future career choice. 

In attending the third annual conference on Diplomas in September, I was sadly and inevitably struck by the lack of businesses in attendance. Hardly surprising, business does not yet know what is going to hit it in terms of demands from the teaching establishments. 

The Diplomas set out to provide upwards of 100 guided learning hours per student, some as much or more than 160 hours. Each student will be asked to focus on the business sector that the Diploma is set in, for example Creative and Media, together with the functional skills – English, Maths and ICT. Whereas development has been started with the Sector Skills Councils, in my experience little is known of them or seen of them in the day to day life. 

As small business people, we are working closely with schools building up a business engagement process appropriate to the needs of both educators and employers, but driven by employers. As most of the economy is made up of Micro or small businesses, this army of entrepreneurs could offer young people a dynamic insight into enterprise and commerce. It is important that we engage with them effectively and this requires much improved communication from not just the Education Authority but the schools and education practitioners within them. The key challenge of the work placement elements of the Diploma lie in making the interaction between business and young people rich in content for students and easily managed and absorbed into the working day for business. 

These are interesting times, but the introduction of Diplomas won’t automatically change perceptions or alter employers’ approach to recruitment.  We need to work together to communicate at every opportunity the value of Diplomas, Apprenticeship schemes and work experience placements to business.  The sign of success will be employers signing up to participate year after year. 

We are playing our part through our Community Interest Company, Education for