Local Businesses Enrol in hub South West’s eighth Building for Growth Programme

Local businesses enrol in hub South West’s eighth Building for Growth Programme in expectation of winning new work from Scotland’s Tier 1 contractors

Hub South West’s eighth Building for Growth programme is now under way. This bespoke business development initiative is open to any company looking to grow in a sustainable manner by building the skills and internal capacity to take on increasing volumes of business and, as a result could win new work from participating Tier 1 contactors.

The Building for Growth programme, aimed at ambitious businesses in construction and related sectors based in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway, is run by hub South West, a public-private partnership of local authorities, NHS, blue light services and a clutch of leading construction industry Tier 1 contractors including Morisons, Graham, Morgan Sindall, Ashleigh and Keir.

The current programme, from which 62 local businesses have already graduated, got under way on 21 March and is scheduled to run through until early June. It comprises 8 half-day sessions (10.00am-2.00pm) over a period of 12 weeks. Throughout the spring 2018 session workshops will focus on topics such as smart tendering, innermetrix profiling, strategic growth and exit options, marketing planning, supplier development programmes, corporate social responsibility and pitching for business.

Gordon Hunter, hub South West’s Supply Chain Manager who manages the Building for Growth programme, said: “There are a lot of good businesses out there, but some have areas where they need to build capacity if they want to rise to the next level.

“For example, many are relying too heavily on the skills of one key person, some of the IT practices are not very efficient or robust, and marketing communications can vary from the sublime to the almost non-existent.

“A golden rule of the programme is ‘no competitors’, leaving participants free to discuss any business issues, challenges and opportunities in a safe and supportive environment with a like-minded group of business people.”

Gary Thorn, founder and MD of Cumbernauld-based Cube Glass, who won the Best final Presentation Award at the culmination of the seventh Building for Growth Programme in November last year, said: “I learned a great deal from this programme and I will be ever-grateful to hub South West for giving me the opportunity to participate.

“At first I thought it would be impossible for me to take eight half-days away from the business to attend but, in fact, taking time away from my day to day concerns gave me the opportunity to sit back and look at our long term development and to improve the chances of Cube Glass winning work from some of the Tier One contractors.”

Michael McBrearty, Chief Executive of hub South West, said: “Our aim is to help generate growth in the local economy through innovative methods of partnership working and procurement which also provide value for money solutions.

“Our Building for Growth programme has already delivered success to the leaders of its participating companies by both broadening and deepening their grasp of the factors needed to win more new, bigger contracts from Tier One contractors and we hope and trust that all of the participants in our eighth Building for Growth programme will follow in their footsteps.”