Pathways to Successful SMEs

The issue 

Small and medium-sized enterprises in construction/infrastructure face high failure rates. We need to understand the journey to business ownership, identify critical intervention points, and evaluate current support mechanisms including vocational education and industry programmes to enhance preparation and ongoing support to better prepare tradespeople for business.

Intended outcomes 

• Map typical pathways from technical expert to business owner to identify crucial intervention points
• Evaluate effectiveness of current support mechanisms including industry association programmes and vocational education
• Identify gaps and opportunities to enhance existing business support services
• Develop recommendations for improving current pathways and potentially creating new educational approaches
• Strengthen collaboration between industry associations, education providers, and support services
• Create clearer pathways between existing programmes and potential new qualifications like a "Meister-level" certification
• Improve retention and career progression opportunities within construction/infrastructure SMEs

The steps

• Map entry and exit points into business ownership to identify critical intervention opportunities
• Review and assess current support mechanisms including industry association programmes, training initiatives, and informal learning and support pathways
• Analyse international best practices including Meister-level qualifications
• Engage with industry associations, training providers, and business owners to understand effectiveness of existing support at different career stages
• Develop recommendations for enhancing current programmes and potentially creating new educational approaches
• Validate findings through expert consultation and industry feedback
• Create implementation plan that leverages and strengthens existing support networks 

Project status and expected delivery date: in progress – September 2025

Lead organisation: ConCOVE

Collaborators: Axon Consulting

Dr Kate Bryson from Axon Consulting will lead this project. As a Social Scientist with a PhD in psychology, she has spent eight years bringing social science expertise to the construction industry, focusing on workforce wellbeing and development. Dr Bryson specializes in applying social science principles to answer complex questions and inform practical solutions. She brings extensive experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, with particular expertise in investigating sensitive social issues. Her pragmatic approach and strong stakeholder