The University of Bath is inviting businesses to find out how they can tackle the productivity problem that is hindering business growth in the South West, at a free event on Wednesday 27th September.
Businesses will hear from Professor Veronica Hope Hailey, the Dean of the School of Management, and industry partners EDF Energy, Babcock International, Rolls-Royce plc and BAE Systems, about the issue of productivity and how the University-based Productivity through People leadership programme can boost management skills, and in turn productivity.
South West companies that have already taken part in the leadership programme this year will talk about how the training has helped them to boost their business performance.
UK productivity is 30 per cent lower than in Germany and CBI research calculates that higher regional productivity could add £208bn to the UK economy over the next decade.
Research commissioned by a group of leading UK business people, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, the Chair of John Lewis, showed that the inability of organisations to harness the full potential and capability of their workforce is a key contributor to the productivity problem.
Following the research, an alliance of academic and industry experts devised Productivity through People, a leadership programme giving small-medium sized unique access to world class engineering organisations and leaders that have transformed the workplace.
The programme will encourage the delegates to translate their learning into practical improvements for their businesses.
Held at business locations and the University, it will showcase world-class manufacturing techniques used by EDF Energy, Babcock International, Rolls-Royce plc and BAE Systems and offer coaching, peer support, experiential visits to businesses and on-line resources with academic content delivered by the University.
The aim is to create a network of like-minded and supportive peers – a proven element within many successful business support programmes.
Professor Veronica Hope Hailey, Dean of the University of Bath’s School of Management, and a UK expert on leadership said: “Productivity is driven not just by upskilling one or two top individuals but by implementing progressive and efficient working practices across the whole workplace and supply chain.
That is why parts of the engineering sector perform so competitively in the UK.
The Productivity through People Preview Event, including a drinks reception, will take place on Wednesday 28th September 5-7pm at The Chancellor’s Building at the University’s Claverton Campus.
For more information about the Productivity through People programme, which starts in January 2018, click here.
