Perthshire community enterprise support group GrowBiz has become the first in Scotland to achieve a quality standard for its business mentoring programme.
Blairgowrie-based GrowBiz established the in 2014 and it currently has more than 70 participants who are able to develop new skills and abilities while being guided, encouraged and challenged by mentors.
The project’s high standard and good practice was recognised by the Scottish Menroring Network with the quality award at its annual conference.
Alan Garratt, mentoring programme co-ordinator and enterprise facilitator for GrowBiz, said: “We are over the moon that the hard work and dedication of the mentoring team at GrowBiz and that of all our volunteer mentors has been recognised.
“The GrowBiz mentoring programme is a network of trained mentors who give their time to encourage, motivate and support local enterprises.
“It provides an opportunity for all participants of the programme to discuss and work out what they would like to achieve in a supportive, safe and confidential environment.
“All the individual efforts by the mentoring team and volunteers have a huge impact on the rural economy.”
The mentoring programme was also named Scottish Mentoring Network’s Business Project of the Year at the conference.
Iain Matheson, the vice-chair of the Rural Perth and Kinross LEADER Action Group, which funds the Enterprising Rural Perthshire project which runs the mentoring programme also welcomed the news.
He said: “The support and mentoring they offer is invaluable to start-up, micro and small businesses.
“It’s fantastic to see the hard work put in by the mentoring team being recognised, this project perfectly demonstrates the ethos of the LEADER programme.”
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