Help to Grow: Management

Learn new skills, reach more customers and boost your profits with Help to Grow: Management.

Lead with Confidence. Grow with Purpose.

Running a business is challenging. Help to Grow: Management gives you the practical tools, expert support and confidence to make better decisions and turn your ambitions for growth into action.

Why join Help to Grow: Management?

Lead with confidence - strengthen your leadership and make better strategic decisions
Get expert support - receive 10 hours of one-to-one mentoring tailored to your business
Learn from your peers - share ideas and challenges with ambitious business leaders
Turn ideas into action - leave with a practical Growth Action Plan for your business
Drive sustainable growth - identify new opportunities, embrace innovation and build for long-term success

Start dates and registration

Open to all organisations

Typically £750 per person, but organisations may have this reduced via the University’s Business Support Fund. Get in touch with the team on obbs-bee@brookes.ac.uk to discuss use of the support fund.

Cohort 32: Induction begins 3 November 2026

Each cohort is limited to 30 participants to ensure a supportive, interactive learning environment. Places are limited, so we recommend registering early to avoid disappointment.

Register your interest by completing the "register your interest" form and a member of the team will be in touch with the next few steps.

Have questions about the programme or eligibility? Contact our Help to Grow: Management team on 01865 534800 (Option 4 > Option 1) or email obbs-bee@brookes.ac.uk

What is Help to Grow: Management?

The programme is a unique opportunity for senior leaders to build expertise across the key areas and to boost business performance, resilience and long-term growth.

Help to Grow: Management is delivered by small business and enterprise experts from Oxford Brookes Business School and supported by leading figures from industry and experienced entrepreneurs.

The 12-week programme has been purposed to be taken alongside full-time work. The programme is built around a practical curriculum that also features 1:1 support from a business mentor, peer-learning sessions and an alumni network.

The bespoke curriculum is aimed to support business leaders to build capabilities surrounding leadership, innovation, digital adoption, employee engagement, marketing, responsible business and financial management.

Additional information

Who is eligible?

Business eligibility

UK businesses from any sector that have been operating for more than one year and have between 5 to 249 employees are eligible. Please note charities are not eligible.

Applicant eligibility

You must be a decision maker or member of the senior management team within the business such as chief executive, finance director, operations director etc.

If your business employs between 10 and 249 people, two people from the same business can now attend the course.

Cost

The course is valued 90% funded by the government, with a participant fee of £750.

A bursary from Oxford Brookes Business Support Fund may be able to support the costs, subject to eligibility. To discuss this opportunity further, please contact the team on obbs-bee@brookes.ac.uk..

Seize the opportunity to work with a range of experts to help your business thrive.

Programme structure

The programme offers 50 hours of support over 12 weeks. It is intended to be manageable alongside full time work.

The programme is built around a practical curriculum that features:

eight facilitated online 2-hour sessions
four practical and interactive case study workshops
one-to-one support from a mentor, providing you with personalised support to develop your business growth plan
peer networking, including eight facilitated peer group calls (in addition to the sessions) that give you the opportunity to share experiences with a small group of other small business leaders
access to the Alumni Programme featuring events with inspirational speakers, business clinics and networking events.

The programme will cover key areas of leadership including:

strategy and innovation
growing national and international markets
leading for high performance
building vision and brand
engaging and inspiring teams
creating customer value
adopting digital technology
adopting responsible business practices
financial management.

Additional benefits

Help to Grow participants will have access to our new Enterprise Centre located on Headington Campus. Flexible and innovative coworking spaces are available for booking.

Businesses will have the opportunity to develop deeper links with Oxford Brookes’ academic expertise as well as have access to our student and graduate talent pool.

Available to our Help to Grow alumni network, a 6-month membership to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) will be offered upon successful completion. Read about the benefits of CMI membership.

Frequently asked questions

What happens after I register?

Submit your interest. Complete the short registration form on our partner website.
We will review your application in which we will check your eligibility and suitability for the programme.
We'll be in touch. Our team will contact you with the next steps.
Join our Help to Grow: Management cohort. If successful, you'll begin the cohort you registered for.

What is the expected time commitment besides the sessions and peer calls?

The total contact time commitment is 50 hours over 12 weeks. Aside from the sessions (32 hours) and the peer calls (8 hours), 10 hours of mentoring support is included. To maximise the benefits of the programme, participants may wish to set aside additional time for action planning and personal reflection.

What happens if there's an emergency and I can't make a session?

Whilst participants are expected to make themselves available to attend all sessions, we do appreciate that emergencies happen. Online sessions are recorded and so can be viewed afterwards (but would not include small group discussions). Face to face sessions are not recorded.

Are the sessions recorded and made available to watch later?

Online sessions are recorded, but the face to face ones are not.

Is there flexibility in how often I meet my mentor and for how long?

The outline model for meeting your mentor is for 10 one hour sessions. Any variation to that should be by mutual agreement between you and your mentor. For example, you may decide to meet for 5 two hour sessions.

What if I don't get on with my mentor?

We carefully match mentors to mentees. All our mentors have extensive experience across different sectors and of helping SMEs and so we are confident you will be able to build a fruitful working relationship. However, if for any reason, once having been introduced, you feel that a different mentor may meet your needs more appropriately then this can be addressed.

Is there an assessment?

There is no assessment. However, it is a condition of the subsidised funding for the programme that individuals complete a business growth plan, supported by their mentor.

Do I get a certificate at the end?

Participants will receive a Help to Grow certificate of completion where appropriate. A Credly badge will be awarded to participants who have successfully completed at least 75% of the programme.