More than 250 people who lead small and medium-sized businesses across the UK have completed a government-backed University of Salford programme designed to help organisations scale up sustainably.
Salford Business School began delivering its ‘Help to Grow: Management’ course five years ago. The 12-week, 50-hour programme is 90% government-funded, reducing the cost to £750 per participant.
University bosses celebrated reaching the 250-business milestone and highlighted that the programme has supported enterprises across over 60 sectors.
A University spokesperson said: “Business leaders reported immediate benefits, including stronger financial and operational decision-making, clearer organisational structures, more confident brand positioning, and greater readiness to adopt digital technologies and artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and support future growth.”
In its latest intake of students, the course brought together people leading businesses in engineering and manufacturing, professional services, health and care, construction, facilities management, fitness, beauty, and the creative industries.
Over 12 weeks, the participants took part in workshops, one-to-one mentoring and peer learning, using the programme to develop clearer growth plans, introduce more structured systems and strengthen leadership within their organisations.
Lorna Waterworth, Director at Art of Maintenance, a Salford-based firm providing property maintenance and facilities services, said: “It felt like divine intervention when this course came along. It helped us reset our mindset and rediscover what we stand for as a business, giving us renewed clarity and confidence for the future.”
Dr Ann Mulhaney, Associate Professor for Change Management at the University of Salford, said: “This latest cohort marks an important milestone for the programme as we pass 250 SME leaders supported over the past five years.
“What has been particularly encouraging is seeing how businesses are using the programme to strengthen leadership, improve operational discipline and create more sustainable foundations for growth.
“The calibre of leadership, openness to challenge and willingness to reflect has been exceptional. Over the 12 weeks, we’ve seen participants move from firefighting to making confident, informed decisions about how their businesses grow, lead their people and adopt new ways of working.”
