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Free online training courses offered by Go Forth Stirling BID to BID members are leading to substantial savings for the city’s small business owners.
There have been more than 10,000 enrolments since the training platform was launched four years ago with Fire Training for Businesses proving one of the most popular courses.
And so far this year, 70 students have completed the range of courses which include food safety and alcohol licensing programmes aimed at the hospitality sector as well as options which benefit all businesses covering health & safety, safeguarding and GDPR.
Emma McConnachie, who runs award-winning footcare practice Stirling Podiatry, has found the training platform an invaluable resource that has saved her time and money over the past few years.
She and her team have undertaken various courses including Introduction to the UK GDPR, Safeguarding Children, Health & Safety in Reception, Fire Training, Equality & Diversity and Bullying & Harassment in the Workplace.
She said: “The training courses have meant a significant cost saving for me as I would have had to buy them in or deliver them myself otherwise. They allow me to ensure we are meeting our patients’ needs through safeguarding and data protection while also making sure staff health and wellbeing is looked after. I’d advise fellow business owners to look and see what’s on offer. I initially thought the platform catered mainly to hospitality businesses and wish I’d realised sooner that there is an extensive range of courses which are useful for everyone.”
Emma provides her staff with a list mandatory courses and suggests they select any additional courses which may be of interest. She says: “Once completed I can obtain certificates for my records and for staff to keep as record of their own achievement. The opportunity to access the platform helps make me a better employer as governance and policy can often get overlooked in small businesses because we have no in-house HR person. It’s fantastic to have this kind of resource at our fingertips and is one of several reasons I’m pleased to be a member of the BID.”
Since the platform was launched, a total of 10,218 enrolments have taken place with 687 students accessing courses. And in 2024, so far, there have been 241 enrolments from 70 students across 22 courses.
Go Forth launched the free online platform in 2020 to support Stirling’s business community by covering the cost of key training courses for staff.
Danielle McRorie-Smith, Project Director at Go Forth Stirling, said: “We’re delighted with the success of the training platform. Business owners have really taken on board the wide variety of courses we offer and we can guarantee there will be a course which is useful for every business and organisation in the BID zone.”
Details of the courses and how to access them are available on the Go Forth Stirling website – www.goforthstirling.co.uk/online-training
