Another brand new business qualification currently being piloted is Get Resilient which is focused on understanding  and planning business resilience. SFEDI trainer, Amanda Dudman (pictured), began delivering the course to businesses this month.

It has been developed by SFEDI, ClimateNE, ClimateSE, Government and other key stakeholders.

The qualification is designed to help firms identify risks, such as market forces, theft, skills shortage, or severe weather events, specifically relevant to their business and develop a practical and coherent business resilience plan. This will help them to protect their bottom line, differentiate themselves from competitors, and ensure that they can continue to operate as usual in the face of potential disruption. The first qualification of its kind, Adrian Hilton from ClimateNE explains why they felt it was so important for small businesses.

"Today's business environment is characterised by rapid, unpredictable change. But no matter what, firms must be responsive and resilient in order to secure long-term survival, profitability and growth. It can often be difficult for business owners to consider how they  would survive something like a major flood or data loss, but there's actually lots they can do to make their business more resilient to such disasters. This qualification helps businesses develop a plan for keeping operations running and help them make small changes that would limit the risks to their business."

As well as helping businesses learn how to weather the storm, completing the course has more immediate business benefits too. Gaining a qualification means businesses can demonstrate their competence in this area in bid documents. Resilience in terms of supply chains is becoming increasingly important to both private and public sector organisations who demand their suppliers can demonstrate that they have considered resilience thoroughly and seriously. This accredited qualification means that businesses will be able to do just that.

Nic Preston from SFEDI Awards, said:

"Working with ClimateNE has really helped open our eyes to the importance of this for small businesses.  Our qualifications more often than not have focused on start up, growth and business support, so it's fantastic to expand our offer to also help businesses protect themselves against risks that could jeopardise all of their hard work".

The one-day practical training course will be followed by submission of work which, subject to successful evaluation, will result in an accredited qualification.

A limited number of free places are available until July in the North East and South East of England. To find dates and booking details go to the SFEDI Awards site here.

For more information about how to get involved in the pilot email Jennifer Atkinson

If you're interested in Business Resilience you can also join the 'Business Resilience' group in the IOEE.