Speakers
• Lord Young of Graffham, enterprise advisor to the Prime Minister
• Toby Perkins MP, Shadow Minister for Small Business
• Dr Eleanor Hamilton, Associate Dean, Lancaster University Management School
• Mike Cherry, National Policy Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses
• Rajeeb Dey, Founder/CEO, Enternships
• Dr Neil Lee, head of socioeconomic centre, The Work Foundation (chair)
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are vital for productivity, innovation and employment growth. Removing the barriers faced by growth oriented SMEs will be crucial for the economic recovery.
Yet there are concerns that management and leadership skills are a key obstacle to the growth of small and medium firms. For many SMEs these will be low on the agenda, and lack of resources and appropriate policy support may hold back many firms. But if firms themselves do not invest in management skills, can policy provide the appropriate support?
The Work Foundation argues strongly that more attention needs to be paid to the leadership issue. This event considered why management and leadership skills in SMEs should be addressed by the UK government.
Key questions included: