ANZ and AIM partner to deliver tailored training for small business owners
- Cost management identified as the biggest concern for small business owners -
ANZ today announced a new partnership with the Australian Institute of Management’s (AIM) NSW and ACT division to deliver the ‘Business Owner Program’, a series of training courses specifically tailored for small business owners throughout Australia.
The partnership follows research conducted by ANZ on the major issues and challenges faced by small business owners, and their desired learning opportunities. The research was based on a survey of around 500 of ANZ’s small business customers and was used solely to inform the development of the ‘Business Owner Program’.
Cost management was identified as the number one challenge faced by over a third of small business owners, with 28 per cent identifying the area of financial management as their desired learning opportunity. Managing in a tough economic climate was identified by a quarter of respondents as an issue which needed better understanding.
Nick Reade, ANZ General Manager Small Business said: “We’re pleased to have partnered with the Australian Institute of Management to deliver a tailored set of short courses developed specifically for business owners. Our commitment to the sector extends beyond just banking and finance; it’s also about giving small business owners the right tools and information to help them grow their businesses as best they can.
“Our research tells us small business owners need help in certain areas, from cost management, to creating a productive culture, and building business resilience – which is why we’ve partnered with AIM to develop courses that cater specifically to these areas. These same owners also told us they’re time poor, so we’ve worked with AIM to make sure the courses are available via webinar, in addition to a traditional face-to-face setting,” Mr Reade said.
The research highlighted that just over 40 per cent of business owners have not attended business training courses in the last two years with the key reason, at 35 per cent, being a lack of time to attend.
David Wakeley, CEO of AIM NSW & ACT, said: “We recognise how important the small business sector is to the future success of the Australian economy and are committed to supporting small businesses in developing skills to assist them better to grow their business.
“ANZ’s research and insights into the small business sector has helped us develop a training program that is completely tailored to the needs of small business owners, to help them grow, enhance and promote their overall business offering,” Mr Wakeley said.
ANZ’s partnership with AIM NSW & ACT is an important step in furthering the bank’s commitment to the small business sector. ANZ also supports the sector through its ‘Small Business Hub’, an online resource centre that gives small business owners tips, tools and resources1 , the ‘Small Business Hub LinkedIn group’, enabling small business owners to connect with our community of bloggers and other small business owners, and through ‘ANZ Business Insights’, an innovative site that gives retailers access to reports on sales patterns, turnover and customer insights, based on merchant data collected from credit and debit card transactions processed through ANZ merchant systems and ANZ cards in other systems.
The training courses will be offered face-to-face in Sydney and Canberra as well as via webinars nationally, and can be booked now online at: www.aim-nsw-act.com.au/smallbusiness