A Pilot Training on Business Management for Social Enterprises in Germany

On 17 January 2014 a Pilot Training that was especially designed for Social Enterprises took place at the venues of the Zentrum für Erwachsenenbildung Stephansstift gem. GmbH (Stephansstift Adult Education Centre) in Hannover.

Eleven participants, among them directors and managers of social enterprises as well as trainees and future executive in the area of social business, took part in the one-day training that focused primarily on the basics of finance and balance sheet accounting.

During the training, participants were challenged not only to gain an in-depth insight into the theoretical background, but also to solve tasks that were extra developed by the trainer, Ms. Imke Lohmeier, for their specific use.

With an experience of over 20 years working in different financial areas, Ms. Imke Lohmeier has been currently working as a free-lance coach and trainer for Business Studies at the University for Applied Sciences of Hannover. It is maybe due to her large experience that she managed to put a topic that is viewed by social managers more often than not as being rather dry and uninteresting into simple words and easy comprehensible tasks – according to the participants’ words after the session.

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In the end of the workshop, participants were asked to fill up an evaluation form. The evaluation results can be sum up like this: All participants found Business Management knowledge in general to be very relevant or relevant to Social Enterprises.  About 82% of participants said the specific topics addressed in the curriculum to be much or very much useful as regards their every-day work, while somewhat less participants - still making for almost 64% - believed that such training was much accessible or affordable, and 55% believed that the training was innovative or very innovative. Referring to certificates, again, seven out of eleven participants thought them valuable or very valuable to their careers – while more than a third (36%) did not share this view. However, all participants said that they will strongly recommend the training within their companies. When it came to the time they were willing to invest in Business Management education, however, the spectrum varied considerably, with equal percentages for more than a week, up to a week, and up to 2 days (each group accounting for some 27%) on the one hand, and up to one day and up to 5 hours (with about 9% each) on the other hand. Little more than half of the training participants (almost 55%) wished for some e-learning elements to be included in the curriculum.

The Zentrum für Erwachsenenbildung Stephansstift gem. GmbH (Stephansstift Adult Education Centre) is a Lutheran educational, study and meeting centre founded in 1985.

The workshop was held in co-operation with the Ada-und-Theodor-Lessing-Volkshochschule Hannover (VHS Adult Education Centre). The Ada-und-Theodor-Lessing-Volkshochschule Hannover is a non-profit organisation which is run as a part of the municipality of Hannover. It is financed through course fees and public subsidies.