Chambers Ireland, in association with Griffith College, are running a Free online business planning course for its 8,000 members nationwide.  The course will address the key concerns that businesses across the country are experiencing, including cashflow, crisis management and managing flexible working practices, and will assist them in developing their plans to reboot their business as we face an uncertain future. Many have had to strip their businesses bare and will need to start building their businesses all over again. This course will give them the skills to do that and will be of particular benefit to business managers and owners in their dealings with banks and government agencies in the months ahead.

The programme will see industry experts lead a series of FREE workshops, entitled Reboot your Business – through your Business Development Plan, to assist the many businesses struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. The ten workshops will take place Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday each week and will be available to view for FREE online from anywhere in the country. Each session will cover different aspects involved in creating a business development plan. These include industry analysis, competitor analysis, internal evaluation, finance, market performance and logistics. Leading industry experts across a range of relevant topics will contribute their experience and advice.

There is also an optional mentorship and business plan development element at the end of the course. 

Griffith College with campuses in Dublin, Cork and Limerick is Ireland’s largest independent third level institution with over 40 years’ experience of preparing clients for successful careers. The college’s business and graduate business programmes in finance, marketing, data analytics, change management, logistics and supply chain management are managed and staffed by expert practitioners.

Some further information on the course is below; 

How many modules will there be? 

We’re proposing that the programme will have a single integrated module involving ten separate sessions. The overall programme (or module) will provide detailed and comprehensive supports for managers so that they can develop a valuable and realistic business development plan for their own business. We’re proposing that the ten sessions of between 60 -75 minutes in duration would be delivered over a three week period allowing for live participation by participants. All sessions will also be recorded and available for participants to review and use as a resource later as they choose.

The individual sessions will cover the different aspects involved in creating a business development plan – industry analysis, competitor analysis, internal evaluation, financial, market performance, logistics, etc.  These sessions will be supported by key inputs in areas of particular concern to participants (e.g. digital marketing, communication, cash flow, etc.) Participants will also be directed to other useful business resources on the College’s online platform and to other relevant business support resources available nationally. The college’s online platform will therefore provide a one-stop / coordinated resource centre for participants across a wide range of business topics – e.g. marketing, HR, finance, data analysis, logistics, etc.

Start date, exact duration and exact delivery platform of entire course. 

The course will begin Tuesday the 5th of May. The college proposes to deliver its online sessions using Zoom and to stream the sessions live to YouTube. We are proposing that each session is between 60 and 75 minutes in duration. Ten sessions of between 60 -75 minutes in duration will be delivered over a three-week period. Each session will cover a different aspect involved in creating a business development plan. For example, industry analysis, competitor analysis, internal evaluation, finance, market performance, logistics, etc.  Members can also avail of useful business resources on Griffith College’s online platform, as well as relevant business supports available nationally.

Qualification – What exactly is required to get the QQI Level 7 qualification by the trainee.

Participants who want to get the QQI qualification are required to submit a business development plan for consideration by the college’s business school. This involves 

•  A written report detailing the business development plan / project (3,000 words)  
•  An overview poster outlining the key points / actions that are proposed to support a 15-minute oral presentation of their plan 

Do you have to also avail of the mentorship to gain accreditation? 

Participants do not have to avail of a mentorship, but for successful completion of the business development plan, it is reasonable to have someone with expertise in their chosen area of development, to act as a reviewer, guide and sounding board. To gain accreditation, participants will have to submit and present their business development plan to the college’s business school for consideration.

Mentorship Costs

As mentors will be businesses themselves they will need to be compensated for their time. This is approximately €500 per business.

Contact Ballina Chamber if you are interested or would like further information 096 72800 [email protected]