Business Capability Programs for Government & Industry

Attendance is easy to measure.
Capability is what creates outcomes.

Awareness programs introduce ideas, build community and show who's interested. But for a business owner already stretched thin, information is rarely the only constraint. They need help deciding what to do next, applying it in their own business and knowing whether they are on the right track.

Reach

Registrations, attendance and satisfaction scores are often all that can be measured in a workshop or workshop series. These are useful signs of interest, they tell you who you reached.

Applied capability

Capability uplift, implementation guidance, depth of support measured against a diagnostic baseline and completion outcomes tell you what changed.

25eight fills the gap between one-off business education and intensive industry advisory. Our programs are designed to ensure and report real capability uplift and long term impact on revenue, jobs, and digital adoption, rather than just attendance and satisfaction.

Where attendance tells you who you reached, our model helps you show what changed.

Different circumstances. A consistent need underneath.

Partners usually come to us when businesses need to adapt faster than their current capability allows.

Industry transition

Helping businesses find what comes next when a sector or major employer changes.

Growth corridors

Strengthening local capability alongside population and business growth.

Major events and legacy

Preparing businesses to capture supply-chain, visitor-economy and market opportunities.

Supply chain and procurement

Helping businesses become ready to win work in unfamiliar markets.

Technology disruption

Building the judgement and systems required to adopt digital tools and AI intentionally.

Recovery, retention and jobs

Rebuilding confidence, retaining employers and growing local economic capacity.

These challenges are not solved by information alone. They are solved by capability that is built, applied and measured.

Flagship partner program

The Next-Level Growth Program.

An eight-week capability program for cohorts of approximately 20 businesses, built on 25eight's diagnostic and research so it's tailored to every individual business in the room. Winner of Economic Development Excellence in Consulting at the 2025 Economic Development Australia National Awards for Excellence.

Every participating business leaves with:

A clear growth direction built around its goals
An operating design that reduces reliance on the owner
A Business Brain: organised business knowledge in its own Google or Microsoft environment
A quarterly planning and review rhythm
Practical AI capability applied where it creates genuine leverage

AI is embedded rather than the subject.

Many AI training offerings teach people how to use tools. This program builds the capability to lead a business in an economy where AI exists. Owners clarify direction, customers and operations first, then apply AI where it actually helps. The approach is tool-agnostic, so businesses build a way of working rather than a dependency on one subscription.

Sam Hurley presenting to the Geelong cohort

A Latrobe City Council group session in progress

AI amplifies what a business is already doing. Where the foundations are missing, it doesn't fix them.

Download the Partner Program Guide See the owner-facing program

A pathway shaped by what each business actually needs.

Diagnose

Every business completes a diagnostic before starting. It identifies growth stage, capability priorities and a measurable baseline.

Personalise

The result shapes the participant's pathway against their own goal, rather than teaching every business to the middle.

Apply with support

Live workshops build shared momentum and practical capability. One-to-one coaching provides feedback on what each business is producing and implementing.

Measure and continue

A post-program diagnostic measures change. Ongoing access and 90-day review prompts help the planning habit continue after delivery ends.

One capability architecture. Outcomes shaped to your community.

The offering is a platform, rather than a fixed course. The diagnostic architecture and applied-capability model remain consistent, while the emphasis, coaches and mentors, milestones and reporting can be shaped around your objectives.

Defence and sovereign capability: Australian Defence Export Office and Australian Defence Alliance Victoria.
Procurement and new supply chains: Industry Capability Network.
Regional industry transition: Latrobe City Council.
Digital capability: Hume City Council and Colac Otway Shire.
Local growth cohorts: City of Ballarat, City of Whittlesea and City of Greater Geelong.

Programs may culminate in a pitch event, procurement showcase or market-entry milestone where that supports the intended outcome.

The City of Greater Geelong Next-Level Growth Program cohort

A Geelong cohort working session in progress

Measure more than participation.

The diagnostic does two jobs: it personalises the participant experience and creates the baseline that allows us to report to our partners what changed.

73%

Completion rate across paid and funded programs

7 in 10

Alumni reported an increase in revenue

79%

Reported an increase in confidence to grow the business

Participation and engagement

Completion, attendance, platform engagement and likelihood to recommend.

Capability uplift

Change by capability domain, confidence shift and movement through business growth stages.

Business outcomes

Revenue change, jobs created, and digital and AI adoption.

Longitudinal impact

Six and twelve month follow-up to understand what continued after funded delivery.

See the full reportable metric set and sample report in the Partner Program Guide →

Choose the depth your community is ready for.

Flagship

Next-Level Growth Program

Eight weeks · up to 20 businesses · high-touch capability building

Best when the objective is measurable implementation, capability uplift and business outcomes.

Start smaller

Opportunity Mapping Day

One facilitated day or half day · larger group · diagnostic plus personalised opportunity map

Best when you need broader reach, community capability insight or evidence of demand before funding a full cohort.

The Opportunity Mapping Day is an awareness intervention that produces a useful output and population-level insight. It isn't a substitute for sustained capability building; the two do different jobs.

Compare both options in the Partner Program Guide

Past programs.

Award-winning program delivered across multiple municipalities

City of Whittlesea, City of Ballarat, Latrobe City Council and City of Greater Geelong.

2025 National Economic Development Award for Excellence

Winner of Economic Development Excellence in Consulting at the 2025 EDA National Awards for Excellence, for the Next-Level Growth Program.

Latrobe City Council Industry Growth Program

Market expansion and procurement readiness for established SMEs, with Latrobe City Council.

ICN Industry Growth Business Accelerator

An accelerator with the Industry Capability Network for businesses winning work in new supply chains.

Small Business Accelerator

A capability accelerator named national finalist for an economic development award.

Australian Defence Alliance VIC Defence Business Accelerator

An accelerator for Victorian businesses entering defence supply chains.

Australian Defence Export Office Trade Show Ready Program

Preparing businesses to make trade events count, with the Australian Defence Export Office.

Business Expansion Program

Supporting established businesses to expand into new markets.

Regional Growth Project

Place-based capability building across regional business communities.

Hume City Council Modern Online Business Program

Digital capability for the Hume City Council business community.

Colac Otway Shire Digital Support Program

Digital capability support for the Colac Otway Shire business community.

Global Advisory Program Advisor Accelerate

Building the advisory capability of trusted business advisors, globally.

Start with the Partner Program Guide.

Compare the two program options, see what participating businesses leave with, and review the reportable metric set, indicative investment and a sample end-of-program report. It gives your team what it needs to begin assessing fit internally, without booking a meeting.

Prefer to talk it through? Book a call with Sam. No obligation, and useful even if the timing isn't right this cycle.

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Designed around the realities of business-program delivery.

What if businesses register but do not engage?

The first session establishes commitment and gets the program rhythm into participants' calendars. A deliberate communication cadence, peer accountability and catch-up space reduce the likelihood that someone disengages simply because they fall behind.

How do you support businesses at different stages?

The diagnostic shapes each participant's pathway. Where a cohort spans a wide range, group sessions can also be split by stage so businesses work with peers facing comparable implementation challenges.

Who is responsible for recruitment?

25eight provides a recruitment pack with eligibility criteria, expression-of-interest content, selection guidance and communications. The final division of responsibilities is agreed with each partner.

Can you work with local providers?

Wherever possible, we involve local coaches, facilitators and industry mentors. This strengthens the local ecosystem and leaves capability in the region.

How can the program be funded?

Partners may fully fund a cohort, part-fund places with a participant contribution, or co-brand a commercially delivered offer to their community. 25eight can provide past evidence and suggested wording to support relevant funding applications.

Attendance is easy to measure.Capability is what creates outcomes.