Help to Grow at RGU boosts regional economy

Robert Gordon University (RGU) launches the next Help to Grow Programme on 14 September and will offer participants over 50 hours of leadership and management training from professionals at Aberdeen Business School (ABS) over a 12-week period.

The first cohort started in January and RGU’s next Help to Grow programme will be even bigger with 25 managers eligible to join. A few places are still available on the programme. 

The scheme offers development opportunities for leaders and their staff, boosting productivity and growing their companies, with the aim of creating more high-skill, high-wage jobs.

Programme Director overseeing the scheme, RGU Lecturer David Gibbons-Wood, explains more: “I’m really excited to be launching the second Help to Grow programme at the Aberdeen Business School and to be building on the success of our first programme. This is an excellent opportunity for business managers to hone their skills and to develop local businesses.  

“RGU is committed to supporting the economic and social development of the North East and with the Help to Grow Programme, delivered by professionals at Aberdeen Business School, we are fostering enterprise and breathing new life into the regional economy.”

Craig Dutton is the General Manager at WildTrax, a Land Rover adventure hire company based in Nairn in Moray, who will be joining the next Help to Grow Programme.

Craig said: “WildTrax offers the discerning traveller a unique experience, traversing the Highlands of Scotland. We have a fleet of Land Rover’s and a host of satisfied customers. The next challenge for us is to grow our business throughout the whole year and to build our brand with support from RGU. I’m really looking forward to taking part in the Help to Grow programme and to developing skills with the Aberdeen Business School.” 

RGU is the only university delivering Help to Grow in Dundee, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands and Islands.

Participants each receive one-to-one support from a mentor and be able to network with like-minded business leaders. They also receive advice to help them create a bespoke growth plan to help their firm reach its full potential.

The first cohort started in January, with 16 firms successfully completing the programme from the north-east. One of the participants who took part in the first cohort was Aberdeen businesswoman and mother-of-three Julie Haig, who is a strong advocate of RGU’s Help to Grow: Management course. 

Julie, who works at Haigs Food Hall in Aberdeen, said: “It has been great having an outside set of eyes to look into our business. Sometimes when you are involved in running a business you don’t see the wood for the trees so to speak. It has just been very enlightening being able to share experiences with the peer network and also to get support from the mentor."

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Image shows participants from the first Help to Grow cohort at a celebration event held at RGU in July and Craig Dutton,  General Manager at WildTrax.