The vouchers are available via Buckinghamshire Skills Brokerage*, which has been developed to up-skill employees within small and medium-sized businesses in Buckinghamshire. The programme offers a bespoke solution for businesses comprising:

• The Virtual Adviser® - an online business diagnostic tool developed by Buckinghamshire Business First to identify skills gaps
• The support of Adviza’s specialist Skills Advisers to help find suitable training and development opportunities
• A voucher for £150 to contribute towards the cost of workplace training for businesses to develop new skills or up-skill existing employees

Training courses available with a £150 training voucher

Buckinghamshire Business First members are running training courses that can be funded by a £150 voucher.

Digital Marketing Masterclass – Wednesday 1st November

Most businesses in the UK now have a web presence, but with so many companies competing for the same customers you will need a Digital Strategy, a direction, an action plan. You will need an understanding of how Digital Marketing works and your marketing will need to be focused, unique, compelling and stand out from the crowd.

In this unique hands on 1-day masterclass, Digital Marketing Implementation Services will show you how to get the most out of the digital marketplace from the ground up. Using your business and others in the room as real life case studies, you’ll understand how the training applies specifically to your business. By the end of the day you will have knowledge and insights that will immediately improve your sales and marketing strategy.

Twitter & LinkedIn – Friday 3rd November

Learn how to leverage Twitter and LinkedIn - in a day. Experience world class training from social media experts including Hootsuite, network with other businesses, and enjoy a slap up lunch in beautiful surroundings.

You will pick up hints and tips and leave armed with a clear action plan! You will learn:

• All the features of Twitter and LinkedIn and how they work 
• What works, what doesn’t and why
• How to find and share engaging content and start conversations with followers
• How to build your followers/connections

Reputation Workshop: Protect private data and your brand reputation (GDPR) – Thursday 16th November (10am-12noon)

Expectations about personal data are changing. People are increasingly willing to share information on social media and to allow their data to be collected by mobile apps. Stringent new guidelines on how data is collected and used have now passed into law. Learn how they affect you.

Reputation Workshop: How strong is your brand? – Thursday 16th November (2pm-4pm)

This workshop is about getting under the skin of brands and finding out how they work. It’s about discovering how businesses of all kinds can deliver greater value from their brand. The process itself will be inspiring and enlightening for all taking part. ‘Thinking like a brand’ will open your eyes to new opportunities and give you the confidence to go for them.

Assertiveness Training Course – Monday 20th November

This Assertiveness Course is designed to give participants a greater understanding of what assertive behaviour is and how they can create boundaries and influence others by effectively communicating personal feelings and opinions.

Delegates will:

• Identify the need for assertiveness
• Recognise the importance of being assertive
• Explore the differences between submissive, aggressive and assertive behaviour
• Practice how to say 'no' without feeling guilty
• Use the 4 step assertion model for managing difficult conversations
• Practice assertiveness skills 

Social Media & Digital Marketing – Wednesday 22nd November

Is your business growing as fast as you’d like? It may be a cliché to say that our world is changing faster and faster each day, but the evidence is hard to ignore. Today’s challenges require us to work with new and very different marketing channels all the time.

This workshop will cover:

• How to create your own digital marketing strategy 
• How to build an Online Lead Generation system
• What are the best available free tools
• How to generate profits
• How to embrace the power of content
• How to engage your team to become a sales and marketing force
• How to be GDPR compliant

Understanding Dementia – Tuesday 12th December

This study day will look at ways to recognise the signs and symptoms of dementia in everyday life. This course will include discussion and group work and improve your support for people living with dementia. The course will also offer the opportunity for you to become an Alzheimer’s Society ‘Dementia Friend’.

The course will cover the following topics:

• What is dementia - including risk factors & cultural influences
• Understanding diagnosis and treatment
• Long term effects of dementia
• Creating a dementia friendly environment
• Supporting relatives and carers
• ‘What's it like to have dementia?’ – exercises to develop insight

Keeping the right side of legislation – Monday 15th January 2018

Businesses should be aware that if they employ staff, even fewer than five, they come under the following legislation:

• The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

Invenio Training is offering a two day training opportunity to gain certification including an HSE recognised Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work, Level 2 Fire Marshal and a Level 2 Manual Handling certificate.  Each lasting three years.

The Works benefits from a training voucher

Tom Bolton of Eat at The Works completed the free online Virtual Adviser tool on the Buckinghamshire Business First website, and then the team at Adviza took Tom through the training options available and supported him through the process of receiving a £150 voucher that he could put towards the cost of training for his colleague.

“Using the training voucher we received, my colleague went to Cognisant Training to receive support for his phobia of presenting,” Tom continued. “A big step was made to improve his fears from the very first session and he has been practicing well since. He is due one more session to completely overcome his fear and become more confident in his managerial role. Without the support from Adviza and Buckinghamshire Business First we wouldn't have made this positive step forward.”

Read The Works’ full success story here >

Get started and complete the Virtual Adviser here >

*Buckinghamshire Skills Brokerage is delivered by Adviza in partnership with Buckinghamshire Business First and co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).