TRAINING

At Women’s Enterprise Scotland, we have a wealth of knowledge and experience in delivering consultancy and training, much of which is developed on a bespoke basis with individual organisations and companies.

Drawing from our extensive research and knowledge base, we deliver a range of training services direct to women-owned businesses to support the creation of new businesses, in addition to developing leadership skills to drive business growth. We support broader leadership development through training in areas such as boardroom governance and operation, giving evidence to parliamentary committees and speaking in the media.

As well as providing contextual women’s enterprise content, our multi-disciplinary team can deliver specific activities that enable business support organisations and advisor teams to embed best practice into every day client interactions.

If you’d like a confidential conversation with us about what we may be able to offer you or your organisation, please get in touch via our contact page.

Boardroom Governance

With men still far more likely to get to the Boardroom than women and Catalyst reporting that only 20% of board roles are being held by women globally, WES provides boardroom governance training for women seeking to join a board and/or women who are seeking to build a board for their own business.

In partnership with Women on Boards we also run a training programme to support early stage university spinout businesses. This Boardroom Support Course is a digitally delivered programme run over five hours, complemented with one-on-one follow on support and a matching service. The course covers the benefits of diversity and inclusion on the board, the what and why of being a board member, what a NED really does, being a NED to spinout companies and how to build an effective and diverse board.

Please contact us to find out more about future workshops and training programmes.

Business Adviser Training

We also provide blended training programmes for business advisers to help them better understand the needs of Scottish women starting or growing their own businesses.

The Business Adviser Training course is designed to help business advisers assess the gender-specific nature of the support they provide. Advisers are equipped to review the gender balance of existing support frameworks to identify gaps and set action plans to better tailor support to the needs of the end client. The training programme offers insight into research, gender-appropriate techniques and best practice to help advisers develop effective plans.

To find out more, please contact us.

Leadership Course

The Lead With WES programme is designed for women business owners wishing to lead their business through growth to become a sustainable, high performing organisation.

In Fife, we worked with Fife Economic Partnership to deliver this leadership development programme. It was administered and supported by Business Gateway Services, and the programme was run from the Enterprise Hub in Glenrothes.

Please contact us to find out more about the programme and any future courses.

Giving Evidence to Parliamentary Committees

If you'd like to get your voice heard on issues that matter to you or are related to your area of expertise, but are unsure about how to go about attending a committee meeting at the Scottish Parliament, this workshop is for you. Find out how the parliamentary process works and use your business experiences to shape improved policy.

Business Creation Course

Our business creation course supports women to identify a business idea, develop that idea

Our Start up with WES programme has seen over 70% of participants starting up a business during the ten-week programme. Traditional employment is simply not a viable option for many women. For example, those who need to work more flexibly to meet caring commitments, or those living in a more remote rural area where employment opportunities do not match with their skills. Business start-up and self-employment offer a way to use existing skills and earn an income, while working hours that fit around other commitments. Creating new businesses which can contribute to local economies and help boost communities.

Please contact us to find out how we can run a similar course for you.

Business Start-up Programme

More information about our rural start-up programme here

Digital Gender Balance

The first Global Certification Standards for Gender Balanced Digital Platforms offer a route map towards achieving gender balance in organisational perception, policy and performance.

Through a process of conversation, audit, bespoke consultancy, training and support, we guide participating companies and organisations to Certified status. Ensuring websites, social media campaigns and other digital platform content aligns to brand values, engages well with women and delivers the best return on investment.