Train to Gain

Notes on applying for grants for Leadership and Management Training

The fund for Leadership and Management training within Train to Gain is administered through Business Links in the various regions. We have been told that all the Franchise Training Centre workshops should qualify. Some regions have additional funding available to help businesses develop but the workshops may not qualify for this alternative funding.

There are some eligibility rules and your local Business Link will be able to explain these fully. The most important appear to be:

• Your business must be a SME with between 5 and 250 employees
• No other recent training grants must have been received under this or similar schemes
• Training must be related to leadership or management – all FTC workshops should qualify
• Training must commence within 90 days of the grant sign-off
• Grants must be approved before training is booked.

Not surprisingly there is some administration to deal with but this appears to be not overtaxing.

Much of the literature available regarding the Leadership and Management Grants specify that the funding is only available to Senior Directors but it appears that in practice this is treated 'flexibly' in some regions with the Senior Director being able to allocate it to other members of the management team.

In the first instance you should contact your local Business Link and ask to speak to someone about the Leadership and Management grants available through Train to Gain.

Having made contact with your local Business Link you will be initially contacted by a Skills Advisor who will arrange to meet you or interview you over the phone to ascertain whether you are eligible for the Grants. Part of this process will be to discuss the skills gap within your business and how the training workshops you or your staff plan to attend will address this.

As stated above, it is said that in the first instance funding should be used to benefit the business owner or managers with a strategic role in the business. Some regions seem to emphasise this strongly whilst then saying that it can possibly be used for other management training eg support staff whilst others seem to take a much more relaxed approach to who can be trained with the grant funding.

In a similar vein some regions seem prepared to offer the grant after a fairly cursory telephone interview whilst others require a visit to take place to formally appraise the skills gap.

Application documentation we have been shown from one region sets out some issues to be considered:

• Business / Organisation Goals
• Opportunities / Threats associated with the above. List the key factors – positive and negative which could influence the employer's achievement of goals
• Development Priorities to optimise performance. List the learning needs of the employer's top level managers – including those already underway, planned or being considered.
• Impact of learning on personal and organisational performance. Specify objectives, milestones and timescales for the uplift in performance being sought.

The above points may give you some indication of the likely topics to be discussed.

Unlike other Train to Gain funding the applicants can choose to specify the training provider that they wish eg The Franchise Training Centre.

Grants cannot be applied for retrospectively so should be agreed before booking places on training workshops. We can ensure that you will be able to meet the requirements for training to commence prior to the 90 day deadline.

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