Over this week, we will be unpacking some of the key announcements from last week’s Budget. In the next few days, we will cover changes to the immigration system that might make it easier for you to hire foreign staff, the new ‘super-deduction’ designed to boost business investment, and a range of newly announced reviews and consultations on future policy changes.

But first, we’re looking at Help to Grow, a new scheme to help SMEs improve their management skills and adopt better digital tech. Past research from The Entrepreneurs Network has highlighted the importance of both to improve productivity levels in the UK. As we noted in our response to the Budget announcement:

“Management practices explain almost a third of the differences in productivity between and within countries. And pre-pandemic data suggests that if the UK’s 1.1m micro businesses doubled their uptake of key digital technologies, it would lead to a £4,050 average productivity for the millions of workers they employ.”

We are pleased to say that the new scheme borrows from many of the recommendations in our reports Management Matters and Upgrade.

In this Policy Update, we’ll break down the new Help to Grow scheme and explain how you can benefit from discounted management training from business schools and discounted software.

Help to Grow: Management

The management side of Help to Grow is a 12-week programme delivered by business schools across the UK. It is for the key decision makers in SMEs (between 5 and 249 employees) which have been operating for over a year. There are 30,000 places available over the next three years and the first course starts in June. It isn’t free, but it is 90% subsidised and costs £750. In other words, you are getting a course that business schools would usually charge £7,500 for.

The programme is a mix of eight two hour online sessions, four practical case study workshops, one-to-one support from a mentor who will help you develop a business growth plan, and peer networking, including peer group calls that give you the opportunity to share experiences with a small group of other small business leaders. There will also be access to an Alumni Program, featuring business clinics and events with inspirational speakers.

Help to Grow: Digital

Starting in Autumn, you will be able to get free, impartial advice on new technology that could boost your SMEs productivity. Eligible businesses, that is businesses which employ between 5 and 249 employees and have been trading for over a year, will be able to get vouchers worth up to 50% off first-time purchases of approved software, worth up to £5,000.
It isn’t clear which software will qualify, but the government states that qualifying software will help build customer relationships and increase sales, make the most of selling online, and manage their accountants and finances digitally.

In other words, CRM software, e-commerce tools, and cloud-based accounting services should all be covered. But it seems unlikely that design software or AWS credit will be included.

Some have raised concerns that startups who sell software as a service (SaaS) products may not benefit from the vouchers compared to established tech businesses such as Salesforce. Over the coming months, we will make the case to the government that the scheme should give SMEs a wide choice of products and services.

The scheme appears less developed than the management scheme, but you can express your interest here to receive updates when more details are available.