London Leadership & Management Specialist Advisory Service
The Leadership and Management (L&M) Service is funded by the Learning and Skills Council (in England only) to support leaders and senior managers to enhance their business-building and leadership skills with the aim of fostering business growth.
Eligibility and Grant Funding:
- The beneficiaries of the Service should be businesses/organisations employing between 5 and 249 employees in the London region – businesses from outside the region will be referred to the appropriate regional contractor. This number can include part-time employees.
- For organisations employing less than 10 staff, only the owner, CEO or equivalent can access the first £500 of support. For larger organisations, key directors/key managers who report directly to the most senior person and have strategic responsibility for the business are eligible.
- The first £500 of support is directed to the owner/manager or key director and match funding will not be required. The remaining grant can be used for any of the senior management team (including the original recipient) and needs to be match funded (up to £500) by the employer. All “team” training must be match-funded. You will not be able to reclaim VAT from the L&M Service.
- Two examples:
- If the training programme costs £840 + VAT, the client may claim back the first £500, plus a half of the remaining £340 (i.e. £170), giving a total claim of £670.
- A programme costs £840 + VAT where team training occurs. If the first £400 is for the Key Director and £440 for the team, the client may claim back £400 plus a half of the remaining £440 (i.e. £220) giving a total claim of £620.
Ineligible
- Businesses/organisations that have previously been supported through Train to Gain L&M support. In exceptional circumstances (e.g. where the previous key manager of a business has left the organisation) a further intervention may be possible
- Departments of large Public Sector organisations (including Local Authority controlled schools)
- Individuals from outside the EU who have not lived in the EU for the last 3 years.
- Businesses employing less than 5 or more than 250 people can only be supported at the discretion of the regional LSC.
When a referral from a client or an intermediary organisation is passed across via LondonLMreferrals@exemplas.com to the service this is logged on our database. The client is then emailed with the contact details of their specialist adviser, telling them the adviser will attempt to make contact within 5 working days. We shall attempt to contact a client three times to carry out a basic eligibility check. If we have made three unsuccessful attempts the adviser sends an email asking them to contact the adviser directly if they are still interested.
The adviser will visit potentially eligible clients and, through professional discussion and analysis, helps them to identify their development needs around leadership and management, which forms the basis of the Personal Development Plan (PDP). The adviser then suggests providers who can help meet the needs of the client. If the client has a particular training provider they wish to work with, this will always be one of the suggestions shown on the PDP, and the client’s choice of provider is final.
Having agreed areas of interest the Adviser uses their expertise to suggest approaches and solutions designed to suit the client’s personal learning style, time and financial constraints, and any other relevant circumstances. The proposed solutions could include training consultancies, coaches, networking organisations, professional organisations and colleges. When a client has been visited and their eligibility confirmed, the chosen training provider is copied into the email sent to the client.
Training that commences before the client has completed and signed a PDP with one of our advisers cannot be funded through the service.
The client is sent an Agreement Letter confirming the course (or courses) and grant payment. Training must commence within 90 days of the date on the PDP. We cannot guarantee payment for any training started/paid for by the applicant before the Agreement Letter is sent.
Having chosen training activities the client books and pays the chosen training provider in full.
The client invoices the L&M Service with proof of payment and a completed template to request reimbursement of costs up to a maximum of £1000.
Eligible Training
- Any leadership or management training recorded as a need on the PDP is eligible. This can include formal training (e.g. qualification based) or informal training (e.g. coaching or mentoring).
- The Service cannot support mandatory or technical training (e.g. IT software training) or training with little or no leadership/management content.
- The Service will not pay for activities unless they are identified on the PDP.
- Training provision identified by the Adviser can be provided by a LSC quality assured provider, but the final choice of provider always rests with the employer. Should the client choose a non LSC accredited provider the Adviser can undertake to obtain references, but the Service cannot accept liability if the quality of training delivered is unsatisfactory.
Further information please contact: Stuart Walker, Project Manager. E: stuartw@exemplas.com Tel: 01707 398202
Please send referrals to: Lucy Whitlock, Leadership & Management Project Executive. E: LondonLMReferrals@exemplas.com Tel: 01707 398204