Until December 2023, the University of Derby have European Social Funded, short courses available, covering a wide range of leadership, business skills and data management subjects.
The courses are available to employees in all eligible small and medium enterprises across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (D2N2 region) including paid employees of charities.
As this project is a fully funded initiative, there is no cost to participants and no limit to the number of people that can enrol from one organisation.
The courses are split into four different areas:
- Smart and Inclusive Leadership (SAIL); leadership skills, particularly aimed at those new to leadership roles or those looking to become leaders in
- Reskill & Recover; business skills such as project management, digital marketing, responsible finance, customer relationships and
- Branch Out in STEM; support with data management, business and leadership workshops to develop your skillset.
Most courses are held across 1 or 2 days and participants have the option to either enrol on stand-alone units or attend courses across the three different areas as they prefer. We also have some shorter, bitesize workshops available, of around 2-3 hours, looking at specific subjects and elements of the longer courses.
Online courses are delivered live through Microsoft Teams, with the option to complete additional self-paced study.
Read on to see the latest course dates available and for more details or to book a space contact us at businessgateway@derby.ac.uk, call 0800 001 5500 or visit our website.
Further course dates will be announced shortly so if these dates aren’t suitable, but you would still be interested please get in touch and we will contact you as and when new dates are confirmed.
Smart and Inclusive Leadership (SAIL)
Courses for aspiring leaders
SAIL courses are aimed at developing those who are aspiring to become leaders of the future, are new to team supervision and management or those returning to a leadership role after a period of leave.
The online courses are split across four units and participants have the option to either enrol on stand-alone units or attend the full project.
Two-day courses; dates available up to Autumn 2023:
| Course Units: | Cohort | Dates and Times (taking place over 2 days): | |
| Developing Your Inner Leader
Reflect and develop upon your approach to leadership. Learn the difference between leadership and management and explore future career options.
|
72 | Session 1 – Thursday 20 July
Session 2 – Thursday 27 July |
9:00-2:45
9:00-3:00
|
| 77 | Session 1 – Wednesday 25 October
Session 2 – Wednesday 1 November |
9:00-2:45 9:00-3:00 | |
| Leadership Through Challenge and Change
An introduction to a selection of academic tools you can use to lead and solve problems during times of uncertainty |
74 | Session 1 – Tuesday 18 July
Session 2 – Tuesday 25 July |
9:00-12.30
9:00-12.45
|
| 76 | Session 1 – Tuesday 3 October | 9:00-12.30 | |
| Session 2 – Tuesday 10 October | 9:00-12.45
|
||
| Inclusive Leadership
Learn how to better understand and support the individual needs of all team members to improve productivity, staff retention and wellbeing.
|
71 | Session 1 – Tuesday 11 July | 9:00-2:45 |
| Session 2 – Tuesday 18 July | 9:00-3:00 | ||
| Leader as Coach and Mentor
Examine the practical process of coaching, how to prepare for each opportunity and see the impacts of coaching on the development of the business. |
73 | Session 1 – Monday 7 August | 9.30-1:00 |
| Session 2 – Tuesday 8 August | 9:30-1:15
|
||
| 78 | Session 1 – Wednesday 15 November | 9:30-1:00 | |
| Session 2 – Wednesday 22 November | 9:30-1:15
|
||
To book a space or to register your details to receive new dates as they are confirmed contact us at businessgateway@derby.ac.uk, call 0800 001 5500.
Reskill and Recover Training for SME’s
Courses to support and grow your business
Reskill and Recover aims to help participants learn about growth and productivity, especially following the challenges of the past few years. All the courses can be taken as stand-alone options.
Two-day courses; dates available up to Autumn 2023:
| Course Units: | Dates and Times (taking place over 2 days): | |
| Customer Relationships
The more you appreciate customer value, the better customer satisfaction and performance will be. This course looks at valuing customers as investments, creating a customer-centric business and delivering customer value. |
Session 1 – Thursday 27 July
Session 2 – Friday 28 July |
9:15-3
9:15-3 |
| Session 1 – Tuesday 24 October
Session 2 – Tuesday 31 October |
9:15-3
9:15-3 |
|
| Digital Marketing
Today more than ever, digital channels are becoming an increasingly important part of how you interact with customers and deliver value. In this course, aimed at those with a beginner/intermediate digital marketing skillset, you will learn which tools are worth adding to your digital marketing mix and how to leverage them better. |
Session 1 – Wednesday 5 July
Session 2 – Wednesday 12 July |
9:15-3
9:15-3 |
| Project Management
This unit is designed for participants who need the practical skills to manage projects as part of their day job. It covers Project initiation, planning, execution, implementation, control and closure. |
New dates TBC | |
| Responsible Finance
An introduction to financial management and consideration of the difference between financial accounting and management accounting, building wealth/value, pricing strategies, cash flow management and strategic management accounting techniques. |
Session 1 – Wednesday 12 July
Session 2 – Friday 14 July |
9:15-12:45
9:15-12:45 |
| Writing for Business
Crafting engaging messages to promote your business is an essential skill that can help you to sell your products and services more easily. This course covers writing styles, your target audience, boosting creativity and writing impactful copy.
|
Session 1 – Thursday 20 July
Session 2 – Thursday 27 July
|
9:00-3:00
9:00-3:00 |
| Session 1 – Tuesday 19 September Session 2 – Tuesday 26 September
|
9:00-3:00
9:00-3:00 |
To book a space or to register your details to receive new dates as they are confirmed contact us at businessgateway@derby.ac.uk, call 0800 001 5500.
Reskill and Recover Training for SME’s cont.
Short workshops to refresh your understanding
Our range of short online workshops allow participants to focus on specific areas in which to develop their skills.
Bite-size workshops; dates available up to Summer 2023:
| Workshop units: | Dates and times | |
| Power Up with Easy SEO
Learn the basics of search engine optimisation and give your website a kickstart. This short course will take you through the necessary steps to understand and simplify search terminology and get stuck in with applying SEO to your online marketing. |
Tuesday 11 July | 9:35 – 11:30 |
| Ensuring Staff Retention in HR
Retention is one of the biggest challenges in modern businesses. In this unit you will cover the push and pull factors affecting both employees and employers, flexible working arrangements, career planning and job enrichment, exploring how they can be applied to the workforce in your business. |
Wednesday 19 July | 9:30 – 11:30 |
| Managing Difficult Conversations
This workshop will look at preparing for difficult conversations, building confidence, positive communication and relationships. |
Tuesday 5 September
|
9:30 – 12:30
|
| LinkedIn Marketing
This workshop is a must for anyone using social media for business. Aimed at beginner and intermediate levels, the session will give you a better understanding of how LinkedIn works and its algorithm, how to maximise exposure for your content, how to optimise your profile on LinkedIn and build your personal brand. |
Wednesday 19 July | 9:30 – 11:30 |
| Generative AI and Chat GPT – a beginner’s guide
This workshop is designed for leaders who want to learn more about generative AI and Chat GPT and how it can be used to improve their practice or business. No prior experience required. |
Tuesday 15 August | 9:30 – 11:30 |
| Microsoft Teams top tips
This workshop is for participants who are wanting to further their digital skills and are looking for advice on more advanced features of Microsoft Teams. |
Wednesday 20 September | 10:30 – 11:30 |
| Microsoft Excel deep dive
This workshop is for participants who are wanting to further their digital skills and are looking for advice on more advanced features of Microsoft Excel. |
Wednesday 20 September | 12pm-1pm |
To book a space or to register your details to receive new dates as they are confirmed contact us at businessgateway@derby.ac.uk, call 0800 001 5500.
Branch out in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
Short workshops looking at digital skills, data, artificial intelligence in leadership and finance
Branch out in STEM aims to help participants refresh digital analytical and problem-solving skills which are essential to keep up with business changes. All courses are online.
Bite-size workshops; dates available up to Summer 2023:
| Course units: | Dates and times | |
| Learning and learning technologies in the world of HR
In this workshop you will explore how we learn at work, the role of learning technologies and how they can support ‘spaced’ learning to help develop employees and businesses. As part of the session, you will also review some of the challenges and potential resistance in favour of more traditional and familiar methods.
|
Monday 17 July | 9:30-11:30 |
| Future Leaders – Artificial Leadership and CHATGPT
While there is much to be excited about generative AI’s and ChatGPT potential, there are considerations leaders need to take into account. In this workshop, we will focus on the importance of AI and ChatGPT and how it will impact organisations and institutions in the near future.
|
Wednesday 5th July | 9:30-12:30 |
| Understanding and Forecasting Cash Flow & Profit
Sadly, four out of five business failures result from mismanagement of cash. In this workshop, we will consider the tools and techniques to help manage cashflow and review cashflow forecasting, and what data you need to enable this. We will also look into how seemingly profitable businesses can fail and understand positive and negative cashflows. |
Monday 31 July | 10-12 |
To book a space or to register your details to receive new dates as they are confirmed contact us at businessgateway@derby.ac.uk, call 0800 001 5500.