We’re fast approaching the end of 2026, don’t worry there’s still to book onto a training course before the end of the year.
FEATURED TRAINING OF THE MONTH: Tackling Poor Performance
Date: Wednesday, 25th November 2026
Time: 9am to 12noon
Price: £75 +VAT members / £95 +VAT non-members
Venue: J36 Conference Centre, Milnthorpe
Delivered by: Michael Bauer of Cumbria Employment Solicitors
Practical Steps to Prevent, Address and Manage Performance Issues with Confidence
Poor performance rarely appears overnight, yet many managers feel uncertain about how and when to intervene. Left unaddressed, performance concerns can impact team morale, productivity, and organisational outcomes.
Tackling Poor Performance is a practical and engaging programme designed to give managers the confidence and skills to address performance issues early, support improvement, and navigate formal processes effectively when required.
Why This Programme Matters
Early intervention is the key to successful performance management. By addressing issues promptly and constructively, managers can often resolve concerns before they become formal matters.
Participants will leave with a practical toolkit to identify, prevent, and tackle poor performance, using informal interventions wherever possible and managing formal performance processes effectively when necessary.
Equip your managers with the skills to address performance challenges early, support employee success, and foster a high-performing workplace.
Still to come……
The leadership skills of the future: Why human-centred leadership is a business advantage
Date: Thursday 26th November
Time: 10am to 11am
Price: £25 +VAT
Venue: Online
Delivered by: Realise HR
The leadership qualities organisations need most today aren't soft skills. They're business skills.
Claire McLean of Realise HR will explore:
• Why leadership is changing
• The shift away from command-and-control leadership
• Why trust, transparency and authenticity matter more than ever
• The impact of hybrid working, wellbeing and multigenerational workforces
• What employees expect from leaders in 2026 and beyond
AI – Beyond the Basics
Date: Wednesday 2nd December
Time: 9am to 12noon
Price: £75+VAT members / £95 +VAT non-members
Venue: J36 Conference Centre, Milnthorpe
Delivered by: Virtual Bell
This course is designed for businesses that have experimented with AI tools but are not yet getting the consistent, high-quality results they expected.
Many businesses have started using AI but find the outputs generic, inconsistent or time consuming to refine.
This practical, highly hands on workshop helps delegates turn AI into a simple, repeatable business system that genuinely saves time.
The workshop focuses primarily on ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot while also providing an overview of the most commonly used AI platforms.
By the end of the session delegates will:
• Understand which AI platform is best suited to specific business tasks
• Write better prompts for consistently high-quality results
• Use AI to create meeting minutes, summaries and action plans
• Create reusable templates for emails, documents and responses
• Automate repetitive admin tasks including quotes, replies and notes
• Turn rough ideas into professional communications
• Save time across administration, communication and marketing
• Understand safe and ethical AI use
Ideal for businesses that:
• Have already experimented with AI
• Want better quality results
• Want to save time and work smarter
• Are ready to move beyond basic AI use
LinkedIn Unfiltered: Be Seen to Succeed - LinkedIn for Leads and Sales (NEW DATE)
Date: Wednesday, 8th December 2026
Time: 10am to 11.30am
Price: £50 +VAT members / £65 +VAT non-members
Venue: Online
Delivered by: Impact Growth Academy
Your profile is set up. Now it's time to make it work for your business.
In this session, Leanne shares exactly how she uses LinkedIn to find potential clients, build relationships and generate paid work — not theory, but what she actually does. We'll look at the real difference between free LinkedIn and Sales Navigator and whether it's worth paying for, how to find the right companies and the right decision-makers, and how searches, filters and lead lists actually work in practice.
We'll cover how to use your Services Page to receive enquiries and send proposals, the difference between your personal profile and a Company Page, and how to use content and engagement on your newsfeed to reach people who aren't already following you. Leanne will also show you how she starts real conversations — through messages, voice notes and video — and how to build a simple weekly LinkedIn routine you'll actually keep up with, including a live demonstration of a genuine search for potential clients.
A note on the day
Parts of this session involve live demonstrations. Nothing showing a real person's identifiable details will be shown on screen, photographed or recorded — any examples used are anonymised or shared with permission. This is independent training and is not affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn.
Hear more from Impact Growth Academy here
And if you like to plan ahead, coming up in January 2027…..
Growing a successful rural business
Date: 13th January 2027
Time: 9am - 12pm
Location: J36 Conference Centre
Price: Member Rate - £85.00 +VAT | Non Member Rate - £100.00 +VAT
Delivered by: Angela Anthonisz
A practical, energising half-day workshop for small rural and visitor economy businesses in Cumbria that want to grow with confidence. This focused session will help participants spot realistic opportunities, strengthen resilience, and leave with clear next steps they can put into action straight away — without needing a full day away from the business.
Content
• Welcome, introductions and business growth ambitions
• Rural market realities: customers, seasonality and local opportunities
• Practical growth routes: diversification, collaboration and customer spend
• Resilience and efficiency: quick wins for time, costs and resources
• Action planning: each participant defines clear next steps for the next 30–90 days
Position your business to attract the right customers
Date: Tuesday 19th January
Time: 10am to 1pm
Price: £70 +VAT members / £85 +VAT non-members
Venue: Online
Delivered by: Creative Hutch
If your business is already up and running but your marketing feels unclear or isn’t attracting the right customers, it's probably not that you need to do more marketing but that you need to get clearer on what you want to be known for.
In this practical, interactive online workshop, we’ll explore who you most want to reach, what matters to them, why they should choose you and how you can stand out from your competitors.
We’ll help you turn that thinking into clear, confident messaging you can use across your website, social media and wider marketing. We’ll also touch on how AI can help you research, test and refine your ideas, without making your business sound like everyone else.
You’ll leave with practical tools and a clearer foundation for attracting the right customers.
Cyber security awareness for non-technical staff
Date: Wednesday 27th January
Time:10am to 11.30am
Price: £50 +VAT members / £65 +VAT non-members
Venue: Online
Delivered by: David Allen IT
Most cyber-attacks succeed because of an everyday mistake, not clever hacking. This practical session shows you how attacks actually happen and the simple habits that stop them.
Using real UK examples, we look at the threats you're most likely to meet; phishing emails, malware, ransomware and data theft. You'll learn how to spot a suspicious message, create strong passwords using three random words, keep your laptop and phone secure, and use public AI tools like ChatGPT safely.
By the end you'll be able to:
• Recognise the warning signs of phishing and other common threats
• Apply good password, account and device security habits
• Know exactly when and how to report anything suspicious
The session finishes with a short knowledge check so you leave confident it's stuck.
Our schedule for 2027 is really taking shape now with training booked in until the start of September – you can view the current schedule here
If you’re unsure of training needs and need help to identify areas of training which will deliver the best results for your employees and your business, you really should consider a Training Needs Analysis. This is a chargeable service, delivered in 2hrs by one of our qualified and experienced business adviser team. Prices are £150 +VAT Chamber members / £225 for non-Chamber members. Stop wasting money on ineffective training and get support to source your training needs today. To express interest email info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk
