North Wales launch for £37m leadership project

A £37m initiative to develop world class business leaders in North Wales has been launched.

The North Wales arm of Leadership and Management Wales (LMW), a pan-Wales centre of excellence backed by the Welsh Assembly Government, will help to drive up leadership and management skills in thousands of businesses across the region.

The project will be led by Cardiff University, with it being delivered in North and Mid Wales by Glyndŵr University and Tattum Guest Associates.

Glyndŵr University will act as a knowledge base for businesses and support their aims with research, information and leadership training.

Deputy Minister for Skills John Griffiths AM attended the launch of the project at Glyndŵr University’s Management Centre at Redwither Tower, on Wrexham Industrial Estate.

He said: “Wales needs top quality leaders to be able to compete globally and we are supporting more than 5,000 businesses across Wales over five years as part of the Leadership and Management Wales initiative.

“We know that our higher education institutions have a large amount of knowledge when it comes to leadership and management skills and Glyndŵr University is very well placed to help support the project in north Wales.”

Graeme Wilkinson, Pro Vice-Chancellor at Glyndŵr University, said the new management centre was designed to place the University at the heart of the region’s business community, where it could play a valuable role in supporting initiatives such as LMW.

“This is a key development for the University and one which we are extremely proud to be part of,” he said.

“Glyndŵr University’s a relatively new University but we have a long history of working closely with industry in north Wales. Supporting businesses is a key part of our mission and our involvement with Leadership and Management Wales will help take us forward in developing the economy in north Wales.”

The South Wales arm of Leadership and Management Wales – which is also being led by Cardiff University – was launched in September 2009.

The Welsh Assembly Government is part-funding the project with £16m from the Convergence European Social Fund.

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