Exporting Excellence

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“Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders; that limit themselves to their domestic markets, may find they are missing out”

Export Excellence

Does ‘Leadership in Exporting’ mean anything to you?

Are you already exporting and interested in raising your export profile?

Are you looking at exporting as part of your growth strategy?

Are you setting up an exporting business?

If YES to any of these questions, then this is an excellent opportunity for you or a member of your management team!

The First available Diploma in ‘Management and Leadership in Export’ Courses now available in Mansfield Nottinghamshire and will soone be available around the UK. If you are interested in receiving more information on this please don’t hesitate to contact us.

It is a six month programme to achieve a full vocational Diploma (Degree Equivalent), which is a nationally/internationally recognised accredited qualification. The Diploma programme is normally available at £3,600 plus vat per person; however, to support businesses during this difficult time, we are offering a 50% discount, YES this opportunity is for a full ‘degree equivalent’ diploma for only £1,800 plus vat per person.

We are also able to offer this programme delivered ‘on site’ if a company has a cohort of learners.

The programme structure is a series of 6 full days ‘class room based’ REAL TRAINING, each one separated by one month for set assignments and the assignments are based around actual company activity, so the return on investment is clearly visible as the course progresses.

We have the first programme starting on the 28th June 2012 and will be delivered from our training centre, which is situated in the wonderful surrounds of Ransom Wood, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG21 0HJ (part of Sherwood Forest).

To ensure high quality, high impact training and greater interactivity, we limit the number of learners per course.

For further information please call 0845 490 0236 or e-mail enquiries@focus-mfb.co.uk

Brilliant Learning Lunch!

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What an absolute brilliant networking event today at Forever Green, Organised by Focus Management for Business and we gained a huge amount from attending. Met some lovely people and some business exchanges taking place, enjoyed a lovely lunch, the pudding was just sublime! And the presenters were excellent:

Firstly Beryll Pettitt of Ridgeway Marketing presented ’10 top tip to marketing for FREE’. “Thank you Beryll, learned a great deal from your presentation, some reinforced what we are now doing at Focus and some I’m sure we will be looking at in the very near future”. Secondly Lisa Whitehead of Get a life presented ‘Are you Powering up or Powering down’ and I have to say at first I wondered what this was going to be about. I was inspired, as I am sure everyone else was, by your presentation and the message you gave (No failures just learning points). I am also pleased that my little Focus update was received well.

Thank you to all involved in organising this Learning Lunch and I am now looking forward to the next one on the 13th July. Which is ‘How to create a High Growth company’ by Stuart Ross an Award Winning Business Coach.

For everyone else if interested in attending the next one please register at Click here for Learning Lunch 13th July 2012 Numbers are restricted so early bookings are advisable.

Marathon Success

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all set and ready to go

 

Skills Co-ordinator at Focus has succeeded in completing the London Marathon 2012. Derek Ward (age 65) completed in 6 hours 29 mins 48 secs and his daughter Vicky in 4 hours 34 mins. Together they have raised over £7000 for a very essential Charity AGE UK.

Derek said that his achievement shows that if you have a specific target and set a plan to achieve it, then anything is possible. He trained every day for 24 weeks together with ensuring that his diet provided the right amount of fuel for the challenge.

Businesses equally should plan and have specific goals and at Focus we have a Skills Coach who can map appropriate skills and training solutions to identified business needs and where appropriate link this to nationally recognised qualifications.

100% Success ?

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YES…100% success on our delivery of Functional Skills, which is believed to be the best in the country!

How did we achieve this? Well we deliver it on site and in an enjoyable, relevant way, (No more like going back to school). We know our learners respond better and achieve greater results this way. The statistics are as follows and note the National Averages, which are in brackets:

Subject Taken First Time Passed Retakes First Time Pass Rate Overall Pass Rate
English SLC L1 15 15   100% 100%
English SLC L2 13 13   100% 100%
English Reading L1 16 16   100% 100% (81.3)
English Reading L2 10 10   100% 100% (60.7)
English Writing L1 16 16   100% 100% (62.8)
English Writing L2 10 10   100% 100% (58.9)
Maths L1 14 14   100% 100% (52.8)
Maths L2 8 7 1 87.5% 100% (48.2)
ICT L1 14 14   100% 100% (56.7)
           
Totals 116 115 1 99.14% 100%

If you’re not happy with the educational standard of young people joining the job market, or you want to raise the morale of your staff by engaging them in an enjoyable training programme, where the raised standard of English and Maths has a direct beneficial impact on your business.  Then call us, the numbers don’t lie!

HIGH QUALITY, HIGH IMPACT, REAL TRAINING.

Learning Lunch 11th May 2012

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Book now for the ‘Learning Lunch’ 11th May 2012

Don’t miss out on this excellent lunch time event: A hot ‘two course’ lunch, in the wonderful Forever Green Restaurant surrounded by Sherwood Forest. Participate in some excellent networking with some great people and gain tips that may have an impact on your bottom line!

The specialist themes for this event are “10 Tips to FREE Marketing” with Beryl Pettitt and “Are you Powering Up or Powering Down?” with Lisa Whitehead, so whilst enjoying your excellent lunch, learn something useful and get the best from networking with other local companies.

Take some information away with you about the government funding we still have available and in some cases 100% funded training (FREE to the individual or company). This is subject to criteria; however, a minimum of 50% is available for most training including, classroom taught programmes (open courses) as well as NVQ’s.

    • Venue: Forever Green, Ransom Wood Business Park, Mansfield, NG21 0HJ Click here for MAP
    • Date: 11th May 2012
    • Time: 12:00 – 14:30
    • Cost: Excellent Value at only £12 plus VATtehead
    • “10 Tips to FREE marketing” – Beryl Pettit 
    • “Are you Powering Up or Powering Down” – Lisa Whitehead

 

Beryl Pettitt
 
Lisa Whitehead
 
 
 
You can now book and pay on line take a look at our shop under Focus on Trianing. Click here to register for the Learning Lunch 11 May 2012

 

Exporting Skills

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Exporting

Britain still lags behind other European nations in trading overseas, hence the Government push with the ‘Get Britain Exporting’ agenda and the Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment stated “Entrepreneurs that limit themselves to the domestic markets may find they miss a trick,”

So are you looking at the potential of exporting? Are you exporting and would like to enhance your delivery? – READ ON!

We are launching our new Export based nationally recognised vocational ‘Diploma’ at Level 5 (Degree Equivalent), which provides the underpinning knowledge for any company looking at the export market for growth or existing exporting companies who would like to re-enforce their skills and professionalism. The nationally accredited qualification is a Level 5 ‘Diploma’ in Management and Leadership delivered on Exporting. We bring together the provision of High Quality, High Impact, Real Training and the Extensive Experience of a highly respected Export Consultancy, to deliver a programme of training, whilst you develop your exporting capabilities. The programme is delivered over a 6 classroom based training days separated by one month for project work and assignments. The units include subjects such as:

  • Personal development as a manager and leader in Export. Recognition that if a company is to sell overseas, the manager and his/her staff will need to learn specialised skills
  • Information based decision making in the export market. Export readiness, export market research, export market selection criteria and communication issues
  • Prepare the company to start or increase its exporting – developing or enhancing the export strategy.
  • Financial control and focusing on export credit control and export pricing
  • Develop the export marketing plan – direct and through distributors to include marketing environment, target market sector, financial objectives, marketing strategy, and methods of marketing & marketing mix, appropriate packaging and labelling. The recognition of differing cultures, value systems overseas and how to adapt accordingly
  • Operational risk management, incorporating basic export benefits & drawbacks, overseas competition, export budgets, targets and results against targets

Gain the knowledge and skills required in developing an export strategy, your route to the potential export market, your research and development, the risks, the barriers and how to overcome them. Talk to us on if you are interested in how this can be delivered in shorter sessions as accredited awards and certificates.

For more information; call us on 0845 490 0236 or e-mail enquiries@focus-mfb.co.uk

We know exporting can seem daunting but with the right skills, knowledge and effective planning, you can achieve overseas success and increase your productivity by 30% in the first year alone. UKTI  have experts around the country and in almost 100 markets worldwide to support you. Financial help is also available via the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, which has been extended and provides up to £2 billion in bank loans.

We are also developing a portfolio of specialist relevant to exporting e.g. specialists in particular markets, languages, legal, finance etc.

Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership (Exporting)

The qualification content is a compination of listed units: Mandatory, all the units from Group A. Optional, at least one unit from Group B and three units from Group C.

Group A

 5001 Personal development as a   manager and leader Personal development as a   manager and leader in Export. Recognition that if a company is to sell   overseas, the manager and his/her staff will need to learn specialised   skills.
5002 Information based decision   making Information based decision   making in the export market. Export readiness, export market research, export   market selection criteria and communication
5004 Resource management Resource management for   Exporting. Identifying skills & resources needed in-house in order to   trade internationally
5005 Meeting stakeholder and   quality needs Meeting quality needs and   managing the needs of agents & distributors’ (opposite side of coin to   performance management)
5006 Conducting a management   project Project to prepare the   company to start or increase its exporting – developing or enhancing the   export strategy.
Group B
5003 Performance management Performance management of   both overseas agents and distributors and company’s export processes.
5012 Being a leader Driving forward the export   strategy and leading the team in the push to export?
Group C
5007 Financial control Financial control and   focusing on export credit control and export pricing
5008 Marketing planning Export marketing plan –   direct and through distributors to include marketing environment, target   market sector, financial objectives, marketing strategy, and methods of   marketing & marketing mix, appropriate packaging and labelling. The   recognition of differing cultures, value systems overseas and how to adapt   accordingly.
5011 Managing recruitment and   selection Managing recruitment and   selection with regards to employing export staff
5021 Operational risk management Operational risk management,   incorporating basic export benefits & drawbacks, overseas competition,   export budgets, targets and results against targets
5022 Organisational corporate   social responsibility Standard organisational   corporate social responsibility

Who will benefit: This course will benefit any practicing manager currently working in export or appointed managers to research the opportunities within exporting. Any company looking to the export market as their growth path can research the opportunities and gain the required knowledge whilst their nominated manager is gaining this Degree level vocational qualification.

Timescale: This is a 6 month accredited course, which will gain the CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership. There will be a programme of 6 classroom based training days separated by one month for set assignments. The assignments will all be themed on exporting.

Cost: The cost for delivery is normally £3,600 for a full diploma; however, Focus Management for Business are offering their own 50% funding and it is now at a cost of £1,800 plus vat per course. Compare this with other routes to achieve the knowledge and skill – Only achievable through a series of un-accredited short courses costing approximately £400 to £500 per course.

Evaluation: Each course will have the company’s ‘Employers Impact Measurement’ form, as at Annex 2, this will show the companies expected impact results and will be measured on completion of the course. An attendee evaluation form, as at Annex 3, will be completed by each attendee on completion of the course and both these forms will be presented to the company in an evaluation report.

Quality System: All courses are reviewed by our resident Quality Manager and all evaluation reports are reviewed to ensure total quality in provision. We have Management and Quality systems, which are measured and accredited by both IIP – Business Improvement Standards and Matrix, the Quality Standard for Information, Advice and Guidance Services.

 

Customer Service – Forget the bells and whistles

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How can we help you

The general perception of good customer service, and gaining customer loyality is going above and beyond the customer needs. However, in a recent global survey, which analyzed customer data from 75,000+ respondents and conducted interviews with hundreds of companies,  it was found that adding the extras to delight your customers, may be a waste of time and energy. In fact, in over 90% of responses, it found that customers key driver was a quick and simple solution to their problem and the easier the interaction the greater the customer loyality (Harvard Business Review - article). So instead of providing all the bells and whistles, make it easier for the customer to interact with you.

A quote from the HBR article “Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers“.

“Focus on the front line. Frontline employees are crucial for good customer interactions. The most successful companies, such as American Express, focus on ensuring that frontline workers have the skills, permission, and the desire to reduce customer effort”.

Front line staff? Is anyone who has contact with your customers and potential customers, if they answer phones or communicate in anyway outside of the business, they are customer facing. It includes those who they serve customers directly and those who deliver goods, i.e. for logistic companies it is their drivers.

Improve the Customer Service provided by your front line staff and reap the benefits. Ask about our Customer Service Programmes, we can can deliver a programme designed to fit your actual needs and there is currently funding support available.

SKILLS – Be informed and make the right decision.

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The skills arena can, to many people, be a bit of a minefield, so why not gain a little professional guidance, before you proceed with any training?

@wilkie1955

Take advantage of a complimentary visit of our SKILLS COACH. @wilkie1955

You will gain an insight in to the flexibilities now available in nationally recognised accredited qualifications and funding support. This is most beneficial if you are thinking about:

  • ‘In House’ or ‘Externally Provided’ training
  • On the job competency assurance (NVQs) or off the job real training (VRQs)
  • Young apprenticeships to senior management
  • Individual or team training

In some cases there is still up to 100% funding available and in many other cases there is 50% funding is available.

Book a complimentary visit now, potentially much to gain and nothing to lose?

Neil.wilkinson@focus-mfb.co.uk Twitter @focusmfb

Skills Mapping is a tool to support you in identifying industry or very your own skills competency benchmarks and scoring your teams to those benchmarks. This will then highlight skills gaps, training requirements and help you prioritise your needs. This can be presented as a spreadsheet and be utilised as a company wide training plan or support your current company wide training system. You will be able to map any training providion to the standards you have identified and ensure that any costs related to training provision is utilised effectively in totally ‘fit for purpose’ training provision; whether ‘In house’ or ‘Externally provided’.

 

Funding Support with No Strings

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Yes, funding support for all companies; irrespective of size of company, number of employees, size of turnover, age of learner, number of learners, or post code. Focus Management for Business has several funding contracts, including SFA, ER, ALR and EU in some areas, which allows us to offer 100% or 50% funding support for Management and Leadership and other Business Subjects. We hide all the wiring; we just offer the company or individual the support and after discussing the needs of the company, we assess their eligibility for one of the funding routes and for those who cannot meet any of the set criteria, we offer our own 50% discount.

High Quality, High Impact, REAL TRAINING:

Our programmes deliver nationally accredited qualifications; ILM and CMI Management and Leadership VRQs (Vocational Related Qualifications), at Award, Certificate and Diplomas for Supervisor/Junior Management to Senior Management.

The programmes are delivered in a series of classroom based learning days with time in between for set assignments, which are project based (this puts the learning in to practice). The learner does not need to be working at that level to take the qualification e.g. Good operators could take a Level 3 Qualification in First Line Management, gaining the skills prior to any promotion, which could support the company’s succession planning, or at the very least ensure the candidate has the management skills before placed in to a management role.

We have courses running from our Training Centre in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire (Ransom Wood Estate in the wonderful surrounds of Sherwood Forest) and for cohorts, we can deliver on site nationally. So no need to worry about criteria, it’s is always worth talking to us!

There is support available through the Business Coaching for Growth programme, which funds and provides a Business Coach to support companies, this may also support Management and Leadership learning as part of the coaching process; however, not all business coaches are qualified trainers and it does not directly fund accredited qualifications.

Among our other qualification that we deliver are: ILM & CMI Team Leader, City and Guilds: Customer Services, Business Administration, Business Improvement Techniques, Waste Management, IOSH Managing Safely and Working Safely plus a host of one day programmes where we can facilitate a pick and mix approach to designing your own programme.

So what skills are you looking for?

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Earlier today the Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills was highlighting the great need for skills to enhance the growth of the economy stating:

“As this country strives to strengthen economic growth and create the jobs that will come with it, businesses of all sizes are crying out for people with the right skills to design, produce and sell a quality product efficiently. The future of thousands of communities all over the land depends on whether or not those skills will be available. So, too, do the futures of millions of people, especially young people.”

So, “What skills are you looking for?”

Before making that decision you might want to consider talking to a ‘Skills Coach’ who may help you focus your thoughts on your needs, not only for today but for the future, help set your priorities and identify appropriate high quality provision.

No longer do you need to settle for training that meets most of your needs, you can gain training that meets all of your needs.