News | 'Get Mentoring', a new mentorship programme for small, medium & micro businesses!

Landmark agreement set to dramatically increase the number of trained, volunteer business mentors in the UK

Shell LiveWIRE is part of a landmark agreement between the major UK business representative bodies and trade associations. The agreement has led to the launch this week of 'Get Mentoring', a ground breaking project which will unlock, train and support a whole new community of business mentors in the UK.

Get Mentoring, led by the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI), will recruit and train thousands of business mentors in the UK from the small, medium and micro business community. Once trained they will be deployed across a range of mentoring organisations accessible via www.mentorsme.co.uk, a national web portal that provides  a single point of access to mentoring services. Mentorsme.co.uk was launched in the summer by the British Bankers Association (BBA) and provides access to anyone looking for mentoring support as they start or grow their own business.

By cementing mentoring firmly at the heart of enterprise culture the project is set to make a significant contribution to the UK’s drive for economic growth. Research has shown that 70% of small businesses that receive mentoring survive for five years or more, which is double the rate compared with non-mentored entrepreneurs, and 20% are more likely to experience growth. Consequently, this project is designed to not only boost capability and capacity in the UK’s small, medium and micro businesses, but also radically increase their survival rate.

Ruth Lowbridge, SFEDI Chair, says “Get Mentoring is about micro, small and medium businesses helping each other to succeed. We know how important it is for those who have ‘been there and done it’ to pass on their valuable experience. It’s primarily a way for business owners and entrepreneurs to give back to the enterprise community but a true mentoring relationship works in both directions. Through this project new and growing businesses can benefit from real support and the volunteer mentors can also learn new ideas and enhance their own enterprise know-how.”

“By training mentors and giving them further confidence to support other businesses we will contribute to making the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business. Unlocking enterprise talent for people from all sections of society and in our small, medium and micro businesses, helping them to grow, is where the UK's long-term prosperity resides and mentoring will play a key role in this process.”

Stuart Anderson of Shell LiveWIRE, a key partner in the project, explained why they’re involved, “We’ve long understood the importance of business mentoring to long term success, therefore we were very keen to partner in a project of this kind. We want to support the ongoing success of our members and this project is unique in its ability to support businesses as they start and grow”.

Through grant funding of £1.2m the government has provided the financial support to ensure a quality approach to mentoring in the UK, whilst ‘going with the grain’ of how the enterprise community want to access support through helping each other.

Business Minister, Mark Prisk, said: "Businesses tell us they want to get advice from other experienced business people and we know that those seeking support are more likely to succeed."

"Mentoring can deliver significant economic benefits from just a small commitment of time and resources. Building a relationship with a mentor can have a positive effect on your business, whether you are just starting up or are already established."

"Boosting the number of mentors will help more businesses get this valuable help and broaden the range of experienced people available through the online service."

Find out more

Contact: Stuart Anderson (Shell LiveWIRE Project Director) at stuart.anderson@shell-livewire.org

Notes to editors:

• Further information on the 'Get Mentoring' project can be found at http://getmentoring.org
• The Small Firms Development Initiative Limited (SFEDI) is the UK expert and Standards Setting Body for business enterprise and enterprise support.
• Shell LiveWIRE (www.shell-livewire.org) is the UK’s biggest online community for young entrepreneurs (aged 16-30) who are starting or running their own business.