HearFromYourMP

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• Posted by Ian Power, 11:38, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  General business skills apprenticeships and training aimed at running a small business appear to be a sensible step forward. I do not beleive that an MBA is necessary for all those who are involved in helping to run a small or medium sized business. Open University courses already exist which may fit the bill. Beware generalising skills training too much to avoid prospective candidates becoming a jack of all trades and master of none.

• Posted by Mike Street, 12:03, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I think running a small business needs exactly a Jack-of-all-trades - not just academic training is required.

  It takes real experience of problem solving, customer interaction, supplier management, cash-flow understanding etc. on a daily basis to run a small business. The academic side underpins this, but it is not enough on its own.

  I think a day release (yes, I am showing my age) type of arrangement could be just what is needed.

  Of course, it would also be good if Entrepreneurship was taught in schools in an age-appropriate way, but that is a mountain to climb. Who would teach it?

  Good to see this sort of initiative which is much needed.

• Posted by Bert Young, 13:15, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Good to know of your support to small and growing businesses in the area . Formal training in itself is not the only way forward ; access to outside experience and advice can be more helpful and more immediately meaningful . There are suitably experienced individuals ( I for one ) who would be prepared to make their services available on a voluntary basis .

• Posted by Graham Pierce, 13:20, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Some years ago I bought into a franchise scheme with a major national retailer. It was my own business but I had access to the expertise and experience of a large organisation. Basic book-keeping, how to monitor cash-flow, hiring staff, generating new business- these are all basic skills applicable to just about any kind of business. It was an invaluable 'apprenticeship' for me, so yes it would be good if this kind of basic training were more widely available.

• Posted by Stephanie Neal, 14:06, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  The idea of a general business skills apprenticeship and training aimed at running a small business is very good but the comments are also very valid. A day release or preferably an evening class would be good for someone starting a business. I imagine most people would have an idea for a business and want to know how to get it going and run it, rather than deciding to run a small business and then train for it. Well worth investigating.

• Posted by peter stone, 18:15, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Yes, I think it could be very useful both for young people, and older people who often go into setting up their own business after a career elsewhere.

• Posted by Eddy McDowall, 18:28, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  Yes, a long overdue idea, but provide a stepped introduction and include schools please so that young people's business skills are developed very early on and don't have to wait for Young Enterprise (also showing my age) when they are 16. Budget management would also help people run their own households too.

• Posted by Mrs R McHardy Walsh, 19:06, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I think this is a great idea. Training in an apprenticeship for this type of thing is far better than day release training or O.U.

  It gives hands on experience in a live environment - there's nothing like it.

• Posted by Angela Willson, 22:02, Mon 14 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  It's very difficult to keep up to date with technology and marketing developments so a training weekend with hands on experience would be just the ticket.

• Posted by Peter Wingfield-Stratford, 00:01, Tue 15 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  This is a very good idea.

  It needs to be deliberately practical for a newbie startup business-orientation course, with planning to be extended by a similar mode of delivery adding further modules as required.

  It should be delivered convenient for evening- or weekend means and available in duration to a timing chosen by the applicant rather than an academic term basis. This should suit a multi-tasking person in a small SME business.

  The marketplace of the Apprenticeship participants in view should include business services in a local region scenario also internet-based business delivered in UK.

  The skills in the apprenticeship should include :

  Basic book-keeping, Duties to HMCR and schedules for declarations and payments due.

  How to organise to monitor cash-flow; How to approach a bank with a proposal for short-term working capital, for management of cash flow and billing needs of a very small SME business;

  Basic current legal issues in hiring staff or sub-contracting to associate business-persons;

  Issues of a start-up in regard to choice working as sole-trader or sub-contractor or Associate, or a company, also issues of having a Partnership or Franchise;

  Different strategies for successful and profitable pricing for SME marketplace in simple competitive situations;

  Preparation of a researched systematic market appreciation for generating new business and using the data for making a business plan useful to approach lenders including family for finance;

  The apprenticeship in Business should be available organised to complete coursework in a short period largely chosen to suit the time-slots available to the Apprentice, but with a contractual period of followup monitoring by the course provider for at least a year to assess further needs or weaknesses in the operations of the apprentice.

  Course Providers should prefer local SME business organisations eg Chambers of Commerce rather than National Commercial education Firms. These Providers should be required to collaborate with the Open University for course delivery and should offer Mentoring via a rota of local members of their Chamber.

  The aim of the follow-up mentoring should be to have a one-to-one connection of the Apprentice with a single person within the course-provider organisation as Master thus mimic the relationship of a craft-apprentice and his Master in the Craft. The option of the Apprentice to obtain further modules of business know-how by home-study as via Open University should be organised as a key part of the Apprenticeship in Business.

  Use modern means to communicate mentoring with the apprentice eg offer delivery of coursework and mentoring by e-mail, Facebook, text, or skype also use of computer facilities in local libraries.

  Many likely Apprentices in Business will have become accustomed to use of Mobiles, but the cost of the connection for coursework and Mentoring via mobile is an important issue. The Apprenticeship scheme needs access for use of Public Libraries computer-facilities or a reverse-no-charge facility number to reach the Mentoring Organisation on their Mobile to reduce connection cost.

  There should be funding provision eg delivered via Chambers of Commerce, to organise in convenient Public Libraries facilities for using services like Facebook, text and Skype also the no-charge-call by skype or a conference-call for use booked by the registered Apprentices in Business. -

• Posted by Christine McCulloch, 17:16, Tue 15 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  A local "Dragon's den" to bring together potential investors and entrepreneurs might be another venture with potential.

• Posted by Alan Goswell, 08:40, Wed 16 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  I served a 'proper' apprenticeship. I had deeds which implied responsibilities for both myself and my employer. This misnoma of apprenticeships as a current buzzword for almost every traineeship has degraded the meaning of the term. No-one knows what it actually means any more! There used to be business studies courses which seems to me what is being proposed. They did almost nothing, why should changing the name to apprenticeships be any different? When I started my own successful business I consulted the local DTI people they turned out to be a motley collection of clapped out individuals who had previously worked for and been fired by big companies. They knew nothing about the real challenges of actually building a business. They recommended how banks accountants and solicitors could help, whereas my recommendation would be to keep all such people well at arms length. They all try to suck you dry. Accountants can only tell you what happened, not, vitally, what is going to happen. The people who could really help will be busy running their own successful businesses, whereas it probably means another load of clapped out individuals doing the same thing under a different banner. I am deeply sceptical about these proposals, they seem to me like the X Factor or Britain's Got Talent, pretty useless compared with acts that develop the hard way. Spend our money on things people actually care about and want, not this.

• Posted by SUSAN POPHAM, 16:41, Wed 16 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  This is an excellent idea not everyone can go to Uni or can afford it - let them try hands on it can give people confidence.

• Posted by Anne Churchill Stone, 14:43, Fri 18 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  It seems a good idea to provide basic business training if it were easy for people to access. I am thinking of those who may be made redundant, have an idea for a small business but lack the basics (bookkeeping, financial reporting, budgeting, cash flow forecast etc.) and may not therefore have the courage or confidence to step out and try their own business.It is a good point about "who would run the training?". Possibly those who have been through the mill of running a small business successfully would be best! Accountants may have something to offer but cannot cover all necessary info - a multi-disciplinary approach would be most helpful.

• Posted by Dr Michael Fulton, 15:55, Tue 22 May 2012: (Is this post abusive?) #

  It would appear to be a good idea.

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