A large number of NORBIC's manufacturing clients are small, family-owned or closely-held businesses facing unique family, personal and business challenges. To address this need, NORBIC has teamed with the University of Illinois at Chicago Family Business Council to offer a one year training program intended to provide owners and managers of family owned and closely held manufacturing businesses with the skills they need in order to set the strategic direction of their organization and to manage more effectively.

The course content may be somewhat customized based on the needs of the participants, but the format generally includes a Mini University Core Family Business Curriculum with training on such issues as tax planning, risk assessment and structuring a Buy/Sell agreement, evening training sessions on strategic and economic issues, monthly peer-to-peer training sessions, and quarterly topical seminars on business topics such as financing growth and improving performance.

NORBIC and UIC offer free monthly breakfast meetings to introduce NORBIC clients to the programs and services that UIC Family Business Council provides to help them address their unique business needs and to explain how participants can use NORBIC's Employer Training Investment Program to offset the cost of this course. Contact NORBIC for information on the date of the next breakfast meeting, or visit www.uic.edu/cba/fbc to learn more about the UIC Family Business Council.