Skill Assessment: The Importance of Learning How to Learn

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Over the decades, a recurring debate in the business world has been related to the specialist vs generalist dilemma – with the first often winning over the second – to establish whether a successful professional should focus on a specialism or aim at developing a wider range of competencies. This certainly does not apply to […]

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Working Remotely: What skills do we need?

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Over the last six to nine months, there have been a range of articles within academic journals, business publications and newspapers focused on predicting and unpacking the issues which will shape the extent and nature of remote working in the near to mid-term.  Key themes have included:  • The shifting nature of employee expectations and […]

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Coping With Change

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Starting and running a small business isn’t always easy. In fact, it can often be quite challenging to cope with change – especially during challenging times. If you’re finding it difficult to keep your business afloat, don’t worry – you’re not alone. Many small businesses have succumbed to the pressure of change in today’s economy. […]

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Mentoring to Unlock Your Entrepreneurial Potential

Guest Blog by Valentina Lorenzon Over the last couple of years, the business environment has considerably changed and the COVID pandemic has accelerated many processes that were already underway but would probably have taken longer to be implemented under normal circumstances. During this period of crisis and transformation, the headlines have been dominated by business […]

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Goal setting, the short-term and the long-term

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Goals and targets help to keep us all on track. Whether it be an amount of money we want to make, an amount of work we want to get done or even an amount of down time that we want to achieve each day. I think it is fair to say that goals are what […]

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The Importance of Creativity In Small Businesses: How to Stand Out and Succeed

There’s no doubt that creativity is one of the most important aspects of any small business. It’s what sets you apart from the competition, and it’s what helps you succeed in a crowded marketplace. But creativity can be difficult to nurture and develop – especially when you’re busy running your business. In this article, we’ll […]

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Why You Should Use Comedy In Your Social Media Marketing

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Your small business needs to have a strong social media presence. We know you know this. But we also know that within the time, budget and personnel constraints that are inherent to marketing for small businesses, it’s hard to know how you can possibly compete with the big guns and elevate your social media content […]

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Five Essential Qualities You Need To Be Self-Employed

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Nowadays more and more people are finding the idea of becoming self-employed increasingly more desirable. Self-employment rates hit their peak at the start of 2020 with approximately 5.03 million self-employed workers throughout the UK. Although the pandemic resulted in these levels falling to rates seen in 2015, they are slowly on the rise again. Furthermore, […]

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Developing Young People’s Skills For an Uncertain World

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Over the past few decades, there have been significant and steady shifts in the labour market transforming not only the types of work we do but also the way we do it. During the last year, the pandemic has accelerated the pace of change in a way that would have previously been unimaginable.  If there […]

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Working Remotely: What skills do we need?

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As staff have started to return to offices across Europe over the last few months, a debate has emerged within the media and the professional literature as to the benefits, impact and value of working from the office vis-à-vis working remotely. On the one hand, there are those who argue that the return to the […]

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Cyber Security and Small Business

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Since the Coronavirus outbreak, small businesses have faced a deluge of new problems while the world’s economy has shifted to a “new normal”. Millions of small businesses face a fundamental change in the way business owners and their employees work. Social distancing and lockdown has necessitated a significant rise in remote working. Technology has projected […]

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Top 10 Employability Skills for 2021

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The modern workplace is constantly evolving and adapting to our society’s needs, thus meaning that the in-demand skills of modern employers are regularly changing. With the unforeseen circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic propelling our offices online, digital skills are the new frontier to have a successful career. However, digital skills are not the only way […]

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Supporting Ex-Prisoners in Establishing Small Businesses

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From January 2021, RIFT Social Enterprise (RSE) will be working in partnership with the Faculty of Business and Justice at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), to pilot a new virtual clinic, supporting ex-prisoners in establishing small businesses.  RSE was founded in January 2018 by Jan Post, Chair of the RIFT Group. RIFT Group is […]

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A Matter of Mindset: How NatWest Harnesses Entrepreneurial Skills for Growth, Performance and Fantastic Company Culture

Gordon Merrylees is the Managing Director, Entrepreneurship for NatWest. Within his role, Gordon leads the bank’s Entrepreneurship Strategy and Entrepreneurial Development Academy; designed to harness the entrepreneurial potential of businesses and colleagues through its unique academy which is grounded using the principles of having a growth mindset or growth culture. This customer-led Academy has recently been […]

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Spotlight On… Gary Rockcliffe

Gary Rockcliffe has always had the desire and hunger that an entrepreneur needs to power them to success. He’s had a rich and varied work life, setting up various business ideas and projects over the years, but one bad decision resulted in Gary having to serve a 16.5 month-long prison sentence, being released in 2017. […]

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Making a difference through being enterprising: Migrants and refugees and starting a new business

Written by Leigh Sear, Chief Executive, SFEDI Solutions. The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, reflected that change is only the constant. The level of change and dynamism that we are currently experiencing in the economy and society can lead to differences between perception and reality. A good example here is immigration to the UK.  With the impact of […]

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Enterprisingly Me x

‘Enterprisingly Me’ is a monthly feature where you can follow my entrepreneurial adventures. Names have been changed to protect the innocent but everything you read really happened. I hope my story inspires you to take your first steps, or if you already have, then it lets you know you’re not on your own. Starting and […]

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Life is Sweet in the Lake District: Local Chocolate Shop Conquers the Luxury Market

The IOEE last met Richard and Angela Barker, founders of Grasmere Chocolate Cottage, back in 2015, when they’d only just reached the end of their first year of trading, supported through the IOEE’s mentoring programme. Fast forward to today and the business has skyrocketed; still staying true to its idyllic rural charm whilst also becoming suppliers […]

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Fashion with a Conscience: How Facing Fears and Flying Solo Were the Fabric of Success

Nic Corrigan, pictured above, is a talented knitwear designer who founded her own company in 2014. After feeling conflicted about elements of her previous career in the fashion industry, Nic wanted to pursue something more fulfilling and ethically and environmentally conscious, creating Whitehall Studio in West Yorkshire. The IOEE paired Nic up with mentor Lisa […]

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Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education on a Global Scale

Enterprise Educators UK and conference host and sponsor, Leeds Beckett University, are delighted to invite you to join them and contribute to the leading global three day forum for enterprise and entrepreneurship educators and practitioners – the International Entrepreneurship Educators Conference (IEEC) #IEEC2018. The ‘I’ in IEEC will be elevated this year – there are already three […]

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Celebrating International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Run annually on March 8, the day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. IWD provides an important moment to showcase commitment to women’s equality, launch new initiatives and action, celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness, highlight gender parity gains […]

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The Supportive Institution: Andy Penaluna on How the QAA’s Enhanced Definitions Inspire Young People in Education

Andy Penaluna is the Director of the International Institute for Creative Entrepreneurial Development at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Andy sits on the Advisory Board for SFEDI and IOEE, and is the Chair of the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education) Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Review. The QAA released its first Enterprise and […]

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British Marine Apprenticemakers Workshops Help Businesses Navigate Their Way to Success

The IOEE continues to develop skills within the apprenticeship sector through its Apprenticemakers project. Apprenticemakers provides a range of support to businesses involved in apprenticeships, including mentor training for individuals who are supporting apprentices. Apprenticemakers has worked with a variety of organisations to build and strengthen apprenticeship programmes, and this month we caught up with […]

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