Did you know that the Growth Hub, Shropshire and the University Centre Shrewsbury (UCS) are on tour across Shropshire? Why not come along to one of the libraries near you and have a chat about your business – no matter what stage you’re at.
Want to find out about funding opportunities, training courses and which projects may be able to support you? There will also be representatives there from the Digital Solutions project, CREST project and Building Skills & Growth Capacity Project – all located at UCS.
After talking to businesses, it became very clear that you wanted more
access to this type of information and you wanted access to everything in one
place. We listened, and that is what
we’ve done! With the continued support
from Shropshire Libraries and especially, their Library Development Manager, Mirka
Duxberry, they have given us access to their libraries so we can come out to
you as opposed to you having to travel to us!
Outreach is a priority.
We wanted to give you an overview of what will be on offer so if you’re
available, please do pop along, have an informal chat with some tea and cake
and find out more about what kind of Business Support is out there.
Marches
Growth Hub, Shropshire
The Marches Growth
Hub
is the gateway for business support provision in Shropshire. It acts as a “one stop shop” for all
businesses, offering access to all types of business support; for start-ups,
early stage and growth.
Whether you are a start-up or growing business, we are here to help you
navigate the business support maze, signposting to relevant advice,
information, and access to finance – to find the package of support that is right
for your business.
Are you ready to start talking business over coffee and cake? Come and meet Emma Chapman / Anna Sadler on
tour with the Marches Growth Hub. “We
will be offering face to face advice on business grants, loans and support
available for Shropshire businesses regardless of size or sector, from
pre-start to established businesses.”
Have you signed up to register for our e-newsletters? www.shropshire.gov.uk/subscribe
Digital
Solutions Project
 |
The Let’s Do
Business events being held at Shropshire Libraries have been a great success to
not only promote our Digital Solutions project but more importantly, for
supporting local businesses.
Business
Development Managers, Nikki Ayton and Sarah Bennett said, “We can support
businesses to innovate using digital technology within their business processes
or to develop new products and services. Although we can offer support to
every sector, there is a particular emphasis on digital health. We are also
promoting our “Digital Innovation Networking Group” (DING) event held at the
University Centre on 12th February.
The
libraries are a great venue to meet local businesses looking for funded support
(which is free to the business) and we are very excited about the opportunity
of working more closely with them to provide access to our ERDF funded Digital
Solutions project. Eligible businesses based in Shropshire and Telford
& Wrekin can benefit from these collaborations. We’re looking forward
to the next one!”
Here are a
few extracts from some of our feedback:
- Not only have I been incredibly grateful for your support but I have been evangelical about your team when dealing with other businesses across Shropshire as I believe that you and your team are a valuable resource and could help many other businesses. Thank you for everything you have done.
- A Business Development Manager with empathy, enthusiasm and a deep understanding for my needs as client.
- Client service is second to none!
- Highly recommendable!
- Invaluable support during the various stages of my digital business support. Quick and energetic responses combined with profound knowledge and expertise in all things digital has made me feel at ease on making an apparent business critical decisions
The Centre for Research into
Environmental Science and Technology (CREST@UCS) is a £1.2M European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) project offering support to SMEs and start-ups. This is
done by addressing their productivity challenges and looking at ways to
increase their competitivity. Our multi-disciplinary team of experts works
closely with SMEs to design, develop and bring new products and services to
market; develop processes to save time and/or money; understand markets (e.g.
market research, introduction to buyers and suppliers, exploring new markets)
and develop successful business models.
What we Offer:
- Business
innovation support, including developing ideas for market readiness and
developing new products/services that benefit the environment and reduce
waste
- Support
with funding applications
- Speciality
laboratory research, focusing on water, soil and anaerobic digestion
- Mapping,
remote sensing and geospatial analysis
- Waste
and resource assessments
- Support for companies wanting to reduce their environmental impac
Building Skills & Growth Capacity Project
University Centre Shrewsbury (UCS) has received £235,000 in
funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) and £156,000 in matching funds from
the University of Chester to help Shropshire SMEs train and upskill their
employees
The Project has been funded through European Social Fund
(ESF) as a Priority 2.2 project improving the labour market relevance of
education and training systems until September 2020. The project
will focus on supporting the growth of SMEs and Micro businesses in Shropshire,
Telford & Wrekin through ensuring that they can identify and access the
skills development options that align with and unlock their growth.
The project will offer flexible support options that can
react to business need, acknowledging that SMEs and micro businesses require
different solutions, and that smaller businesses need support to understand
complexities and changes within the skills environment.
The project will focus on delivering an in-depth training
needs analysis to SME’s to identify skills requirement for both now and in the
future. This could be in the form of short bespoke courses, Higher level
apprenticeships or HE student placements, If lower level skills and
apprenticeships are identified the University will act as a brokerage service
to other colleges and training providers.
The next Let's Do Business In... is happening on the 5th December at Ellesmere Library.
No comments:
Post a Comment