Chief executive of the British Franchise Association, Pip Wilkins, discusses the organisation’s educational programme for 2022.
As an association, we are always looking at new ways to assist our members in the world of franchising. Life and business has certainly become tougher for most people since the start of the pandemic, and none of us know yet the complications which may arise following the outbreak of war in Eastern Europe. This could further damage businesses over the coming months and years.
So, going into 2022, we at the British Franchise Association (BFA) decided that the best way to equip our members was to implement a new educational programme for the UK franchising industry. We wanted to make sure that we could give our members the support they needed during their franchising journey, by being a leading educational partner.
With that in mind, we began the year by introducing a new educational programme called the Franchise Training Academy 2022 (FTA). The FTA is a resource incorporating a suite of learning and development tools. This platform will provide members with the knowledge they need to fine tune their existing skillset, while keeping them up to date with developments within the franchising sector.
Our learning platforms are centred on a model that encourages integrated networking sessions. For example, our National Franchise Forums are part of the FTA‘s interactive platform where members can discuss current trends in franchising. Contemporary franchising topics will be discussed at these forums, and best practices shared among group members.
We fully believe that the best way to solve problems is to discuss and share our concerns. This will hopefully lead to the implementation of new innovative ways to undertake business in our industry. We believe the FTA will benefit brands of all ages, sizes and at different stages of development, and will ultimately boost network expansion.
We will also be holding a number of educational events throughout the year. Our Legal Specialist Seminar, which takes place on March 24th, is the next date to put in your diary and is part of our specialist seminar series. These seminars will be led by industry accredited experts who have participated in previous BFA educational forums and conferences.
As the second month of 2022 comes to an end, I am delighted to note that our FTA has already been widely used by members. We, at the BFA, take great pride in providing updated educational tools for our members and there has already been positive feedback about our interactive platforms. So if you want to stay up-to-date about what’s happening in franchising, make certain you check out the FTA events’ calendar for 2022.
