West Cheshire College welcomed one of the UK’s leading business minds, Karren Brady, as guest speaker for its Inspiring Business 2015 event.

More than 150 business owners, senior directors and managers from across the region attended the event which aimed to inspire growth and drive performance in their business. Skills training Karren delivered a compelling account of her unstoppable success, providing insights, advice and anecdotes gained from her career in football management, publishing, business leadership and as a business aide to Lord Alan Sugar on The Apprentice.

Delegates also had the opportunity to find out more about training and apprenticeships delivered by West Cheshire College as well as what funding is available for small to medium businesses (SMEs).

Delegate Lesley Parker, HR manager at healthcare recruitment agency Jane Lewis, said: “Karren Brady was exceptional as a guest speaker. She was inspiring, motivational and witty.

“The event was very interesting and I learnt a lot about the training and funding that is available to us as a business.”

Experienced business leader, Christine Gaskell MBE, DL, chair of Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (871) also spoke at the event and provided an excellent insight into how SMEs can access funding as well as the benefits of recruiting an apprentice.

Experienced business leader, Christine Gaskell, provided an insight into how SMEs can access funding as well as the benefits of recruiting an Apprentice at West Cheshire College's Inspiring Business event

Nigel Davies, principal and chief executive at West Cheshire College, said: “The event was a fantastic success and Karren provided a great deal of invaluable advice for those businesses that attended.

“Businesses were given the opportunity to find out more about how they can access funded training through our Skills Support for the Workforce initiative as well as the different apprenticeships that we now offer.

“Over the past 18 months Skills Support for the Workforce has supported training and skills for 725 SMEs and more than 2,200 individuals. It is a fantastic initiative that continues to go from strength-to-strength supporting both businesses and employees.”

Skills Support for the Workforce allows businesses and voluntary organisations across all industry sectors with fewer than 250 members of staff to have access to fully-funded training delivered by high-quality training providers.

For more information about funded training through Skills Support for the Workforce as well as apprenticeships, call West Cheshire College’s employer hotline on 01244 656499 or visit www.west-cheshire.ac.uk .