The Small Business Charter (SBC) is a national accreditation awarded by small businesses to the business schools who excel in supporting them, fostering student entrepreneurship, and growing the local economy.
In order to achieve the Small Business Charter accreditation, business schools undergo a rigorous assessment by the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) to determine the effectiveness of their business support, entrepreneurship education, and engagement with their local economy. Loughborough was among the first business schools to apply for the SBC accreditation, which has now expanded to 68 institutions across the UK.
A spokesperson for the SBC said: "The panel was impressed by the clearly articulated commitment by Loughborough Business School's leadership team to further extend its reach in support of SMEs. The School's ‘Progress with Purpose’ strategy is something that could very well set them apart in the sector, and their work with organisations like financial mutuals is an excellent example of this strategy in action."
The Small Business Charter concept was originally developed by Lord Young during his time as enterprise advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron, in collaboration with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the CABS. This initiative was designed to encourage universities to engage with small businesses, supporting them to innovate and grow to help drive employment and the economy.
Loughborough Business School Small Business Engagement Co-ordinator, Dr Elaine Conway, said: “Small businesses are the bedrock upon which our economy, and other major economies, work. They generally make up over 90% of businesses within national economies around the world. Governments and societies ignore them at their peril, as they are crucial drivers of economic activity and community development.
“As a business school we can’t talk solely to large or multinational companies, because we’d be missing a huge part of the business landscape. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy working with small businesses as you can really see the meaningful impact of engaging with them to help them to grow or give back to local communities. Forging those connections is something I’m passionate about, and I am delighted to have been able to facilitate our latest reaccreditation by the SBC which recognises our efforts in these areas.”
Academic Lead for Student and Graduate Enterprise, Dr Amanda Berry, added: “Part of the SBC accreditation is showcasing the range of different support the University offers, from getting organisations into the classroom for training, advice and upskilling, through to helping students to get placements with SMEs. We also work hard to feed back into regional small businesses through our research projects and collaboration fostered through the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park.
“We’re proud to offer fantastic training opportunities for companies such as our Senior Leader or Infrastructure Asset Management Professional level 7 apprenticeships, along with the Made Smarter sponsored ‘Leading Digital Transformation’ programme which is designed to enable technological adoption in manufacturing businesses.”