Restart Your Business, Rethink Your Strategy
Griffith College has partnered with ISME, Ireland’s Small Medium Enterprise association, to support Ireland’s small and medium business sector in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Commencing on 6th April and facilitated by the Graduate Business School, industry experts will lead a series of free workshops entitled ‘Restart your Business, Rethink your Strategy.’ The workshops will take place from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) and will be available to view for free online from anywhere in the country on registration through ISME’s and Griffith’s websites.
The programme aims to support businesses in coping with difficult issues they are now facing as a result of the impact of COVID-19, and to help them to put strategies in place to recover when the time comes.
Sessions will be hosted by leading industry experts, covering a range of topics. Presenters will include: Economist Jim Power, who will provide an overview on the global economy post-COVID-19; Pádraig Ó Céidigh, former CEO of Aer Arann, who will discuss building a new reality for Irish SMEs; and a panel of expert practitioners who will discuss optimising supply chains and operations for smaller business.
Adam Weatherley, Head of Learning at ISME, said: “The business world has been hit by a tornado and is in severe shock as a result. Approximately 10,000 small and medium-sized firms in Ireland are ISME members or affiliates, and the majority of these are in the services industry – lawyers, accountants, travel companies, small cafés and restaurants. However, there is hope on the horizon. Griffith College’s agility has enabled us to put this idea into reality. Together, through these workshops, we can assist businesses with managing the immediate crisis and position them to kick-start and recover when the time comes.’
Dr Tomás Mac Eochagáin, Director of Programmes at Griffith College, said of the programme: ‘This is a time for everyone to step up and help each other. Never before has it been so important for all of us in business to use our creativity, knowledge and expertise and come together. We are well-practised in delivering programmes to exacting standards at Griffith College and our team at the Graduate Business School have a huge wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts that they can lend to this particular and extraordinary situation. We have a long-standing partnership with ISME and together we can rally behind businesses in Ireland to help them navigate and ultimately recover in these unprecedented times.’
Dominic Burke, Managing Director of ISME member Travel Centres, added: ‘The travel industry has been uniquely impacted by COVID-19. This is being further exacerbated by the fact that even though no new revenue is coming in the doors, travel companies are still obliged to keep staff on the payroll so that clients can be repatriated from abroad or future travel arrangements re-booked where possible. Such exceptional trading conditions are presenting many challenges for the industry so we are delighted to hear that we will be able to benefit from the support and expertise of ISME as a beneficiary of their new Business Recovery Programme.’’
