Hospitality businesses to benefit from new government funding for management training

Under the Leadership and Management Development Grant - available from this month – up to £1,000 is available for each company to develop a senior leader's skills if they match this investment pound-for-pound. A free skills diagnostic with a skills adviser from Business Link is included to help companies assess and optimise the contribution made by their staff. To be eligible, companies: • Must be in England • Have up to 249 full-time employees (or the equivalent) • The potential for high or fast growth Programmes from the People 1st Training Company that are eligible under the scheme include: • 'FranklinCovey; The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'– the programme, delivered in partnership with FranklinCovey, uses specific examples from the hospitality industry, to help individuals and leaders yield greater productivity, improved communication, strengthened relationships, increased influence and a focus on critical priorities. • Accelerated Behavioural Change (ABC) for Managers – a three day programme for managers that enables them, through applying psychology tools and techniques including neuro-linguistic programming, transactional analysis and emotional intelligence, to gain the knowledge, skills and time to explore how they can better manage themselves and others in an engaging, aligned and productive way. The new fund was announced on 8 April by skills minister, John Hayes, who said: "This Government will back businesses that want to boost their skills. Effective leadership can make the difference between survival and growth, and this fund will give vital support to entrepreneurs who want to continue to develop their businesses."