Sheffield Hallam University has been reaccredited with the Small Business Charter award in recognition of their support for SMEs in the region during the pandemic and beyond

Press contact: Greg Mattocks-Evans | g.mattocks-evans@shu.ac.uk

The SBC award celebrates business schools that play an effective role in supporting small businesses, local economies and student entrepreneurship.

With 5.8 million SMEs trading across the UK, the network of business schools awarded with a Small Business Charter are ideally placed to provide growth, enterprise and entrepreneurship support to help SMEs maximise their productivity and their contribution to the UK economy.

To achieve the Small Business Charter award, business schools undergo a rigorous assessment to determine the effectiveness of their business support, entrepreneurship education and engagement with their local economy.

The University’s Sheffield Business School was highlighted for playing an active role in initiatives such as Leading to Grow, Scale Up 360, Sheffield Innovation Programme, and the Small Business Leadership Programme.

The Hallam iLab, a business incubation space available to students, alumni and external participants, was also praised, with the number of businesses using the space growing from 96 in 2018/19 to 176 in 2019/20.

The panel were particularly impressed by the school’s ‘Covid Survival’ workshops developed for businesses in their early development stages whilst the level of apprenticeship provision was awarded exemplar status.

The school’s mentoring opportunities for students, such as the Hallam Collective and Hallam Career Mentoring, were also highly commended by the panel.

Reaccreditation means that Sheffield Business School will retain the Small Business Charter award for a further five years.

Professor Eileen McAuliffe, Dean of Sheffield Business School, said: "Sheffield Hallam University is a leading applied university that is open for business and plays a major role in supporting the vibrant small business community in the Sheffield City Region and beyond. Achieving reaccreditation from The Small Business Charter confirms Sheffield Business School's position as a catalyst for business creation and growth in the region.

“This award represents a culmination of collective efforts since our initial accreditation in 2018 and provides the platform for the business school and the wider institution to capitalise on ambitious plans ahead, including of course the recently announced Help to Grow scheme.”

Anne Kiem OBE, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said: “We would like to congratulate these business schools for successfully retaining their Small Business Charter accreditations.

“These schools provide vital contributions in supporting small businesses and their local economies and demonstrate outstanding commitment to supporting student entrepreneurship. We are delighted to continue to work with these schools, especially on the imminent roll out of the Help to Grow management programme.”