A project has been flagged up which is helping businesses and people survive the recession with free employment coaching and support.

The University of Surrey is the lead partner in the Leadership Academy.

The unique programme, run through a team-up of partners including The Open University, the University of Greenwich and Royal Holloway, London, is targeted at managers and executives in the South-east who are either out of work or at risk.

Activities include ten hours of free one-to-one coaching, one-day workshops including leadership themes, business networking opportunities, and enterprise and employment clubs.

Leadership Academy director Professor David Gray said: “These are obviously very difficult times for many individuals and businesses.

“We intend to bring together leading thinkers from higher education, private providers of leadership development and those offering innovation advice to deliver world class leadership thinking and promote skills for innovation in business development.”

He said: “We cannot make the recession go away. However, we are confident that, through our collaborative initiatives, we can deliver practical help and advice to individuals and businesses that can fundamentally shift their thinking and recovery opportunities.”

The programme has received funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England to run through to September 2010.

To be eligible, participants must be based in the South-east, be at managerial or executive level and be deemed at risk or unemployed.

More details from the University of Surrey on 01483 300800.