Issue 9 | April 2007

SFEDI and Customer First UK 'Raise the Standard'

The battleship HMS Belfast was the location for SFEDI to announce an influential new strategic partnership. The partnership has opportunities and implications for all business support organisations throughout the UK.

SFEDI and co-hosts, the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies, recognised the first ten of what will be one hundred, by 2010, SFEDI Centres of Excellence in Entrepreneurial Training in Business Support. Also SFEDI announced its new national occupational standards used for awards, certificates and diplomas in business enterprise, business support, social enterprise advice and business mentoring. The significance of the partnership with Customer First UK is that all SFEDI centres will not only have to meet the Centre of Excellence standard but all individuals providing customer facing support must meet the SFEDI standards and the organisation must be recognised or working towards achieving Putting the Customer First ^®

This is an opportunity for NFEA full members and all existing Customer First recognised organisations as they already have met the criteria of SFEDI individual and Customer First organisational standards. In addition to enterprise agencies and community enterprise and social enterprise organisations those seeking to join the 'Premier League' of UK enterprise support providers, as a SFEDI Centre of Excellence, include private sector business owner training companies, start up support providers, graduate enterprise centres, accountancy firms, consultancy and coaching firms and colleges. SFEDI holds workshops every month for organisations aspiring to become a SFEDI Centre of Excellence (see www.sfedi.co.uk)

Tony Robinson OBE, Founder and Chairman of SFEDI said “ SFEDI and Customer First UK continuously set and raise standards in enterprise learning and support because we focus fully on the needs of the customer. SFEDI has been providing this framework for excellence for 11 years now, and as with the Customer First Standard, we know government policies on business support will constantly change in all 4 UK countries but the backbone to small and home business owners getting the quality of help and support they need to meet will remain through SFEDI individual and Customer First organisational standards. Ours is a partnership for the long term and it shows we mean more and better business and social enterprise support for the UK.”

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