Entrepreneur backs call for Wigan businesses to sign up to Help to Grow programme

Mark Whitfield, co-owner of Wurkplace, is building a pioneering HR, health and safety, and payroll system, which he says will use smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.

Having won funding for the project from Innovate UK, Mark signed up for the Help to Grow: Management programme delivered by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

He is now on a recruitment drive to help take his concept forward.

Mark said: “I joined the programme to get a sense of whether as a company we are on the right track, as well as to meet other like-minded business owners.

“It can be lonely being in business. There’s no-one to tap you on the back and say: ‘You’re doing the right thing’.

"My main takeaway from the programme was normalising the feelings you have when you are in control of your company.

"Listening to other business leaders on the course gave me a good reference point. I realised that it’s not just me who feels that way, and that the pinch points and hardships are normal.”

The Help to Grow programme aims to help business leaders develop a tailored growth plan following the impact of Covid-19.

Mark, whose business is based in Salford Quays, added: “Under the leadership of myself and founder Karen Owen, Wurkplace evolved from operating on a consultancy basis to a retainer model, serving more than 150 companies across the country.

“We are now determined to disrupt the sector with our new AI system.

"Securing funding from the national innovation agency was a big first step and we have since started a coalition with Wrexham Glyndwr University.

"Recruitment is under way for an individual that could end up heading our development centre.

"Things are moving rapidly and the Help to Grow: Management course has given me confidence we have all the right tools and the right behaviours in place to succeed.”

The deadline for applications for the next cohort is Tuesday, April 26.

Register at www.mmu.ac.uk/business-school/business/sme-support/help-to-grow/