The Barclays Take One Small Step facility visitedSyonParkon Friday and over 60 entrepreneurs and 30 pupils fromHounslowManorSchoolbenefited from the visit.

The Barclays Take One Small Step facility is an articulated lorry which expands to form a state-of-the-art presentation suite. The truck is touring the country providing a venue for community and business events and acting as an interactive training hub for Barclays employees.

The first session on the truck was for established companies and 30 managers of local small businesses heard from business guru Robert Craven on how to drive their business to the next level. The afternoon session also featured Robert Craven and was organised with the support of Job Centre Plus in Hounslow. The event was for people who are considering starting their own businesses. Robert Craven’s presentation covered what is involved in running a business and how to make it a success.

Over the lunchtime session students fromHounslowManorSchoolvisited the presentation suite for a Barclays Money Skills session which is designed to give the young people a better understanding of how to manage their finances. The session was supported by six members of Barclays staff who shared their experience with the students and supported them through the sessions.

Barclays worked with local MP Mary Macleod in planning the event and Mary took part in all three sessions, sharing her experience, talking through Government initiatives and answering questions from the entrepreneurs and the pupils.

Mark Jones, Barclays Area Business Manager for Heathrow said: “It was a pleasure to be able to bring the Barclays Take One Small Step Truck to Syon Park and we are grateful to Mary Macleod for committing so much time to supporting the event. We had excellent interactive sessions with our established customers and also with the entrepreneurs who are about to start their businesses. The session with the pupils from Hounslow Manor was also a great success with the students all contributing and hopefully going away with a better understanding of how to manage their money in future.

"These business events form part of our programme to help businesses to start, survive and flourish. Local businesses are the backbone ofBritain's economy and it's important to support the ongoing efforts of these companies in such challenging market conditions."