Kilkenny County Council’s Local Enterprise Office is inviting the Owner/Managers of small Kilkenny businesses to take part in an intensive management development programme which will commence in April.

The highly regarded programme, entitled ‘LEAD – Leadership Excellence And Development’ will be delivered in partnership with the Local Enterprise Offices of Carlow and Kilkenny. Participants on the programme will be from both counties.

LEAD will consist of 15 classroom based group training sessions, with half delivered in Kilkenny and half in Carlow. The group sessions will run in afternoons from 9^th May to 15^th July. Each participant will also receive a number of confidential one-to-one mentoring sessions with the programme trainer Blaise Brosnan. The programme will conclude with a public ‘business after hours event’ with Blaise Brosnan in the Arboretum on 18^th July 2024.

The programme trainer will be Blaise Brosnan, a renowned business coach and author. He is regarded as one of the leading experts in the field of small business management in Ireland and over 4,000 business owners have engaged with him over the past 30 years. This year’s LEAD programme takes on added significance as it will be the last one Blaise delivers in Kilkenny before his retirement later in 2024. Because of this the Local Enterprise Office are extending a special invitation to past programme participants who may be interested in repeating the programme on the last time it will be delivered.

Speaking at the programme launch Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. Michael Doyle said “I strongly encourage Kilkenny business owners to invest in the growth and sustainability of their businesses by enrolling in the final LEAD programme. Making this move will help you develop essential leadership skills and strategies to deliver business success.”

Aileen McGrath, Head of Enterprise (Acting) with the Local Enterprise Office added “Blaise Brosnan’s Owner Manager Programme has supported the growth and development of hundreds of Kilkenny businesses for more than 20 years. The programme is delivered with a unique blend of practical business insights and it challenges participants to develop their leadership capacities. We would urge any Kilkenny business who is serious about growing in a strategic manner to participate in this final programme.”

Places on this programme are extremely limited and are highly subsidised by the Local Enterprise Office. Further information and bookings are available at the LEO’s website: https://shorturl.at/jIJ18