Hampshire County Council's Apprenticeship Support

The Skills & Employment team offers support, guidance, and advice on all aspects of apprenticeships and skills training options.  It is a free, impartial resource for organisations in Hampshire.

The team can offer guidance tailored to your organisational needs with expert advisers who can support you in your pursuit of workforce development.  They can work with you to create a strategic approach towards adopting apprenticeships and skills into your organisation by identifying skills gaps, establishing the most relevant apprenticeship or skills training courses, utilising available funding and building a vision for the future of skills development in your workforce. 

The team can also offer support to organisations who don’t pay the apprenticeship levy to access levy transfers from HCC Apprenticeship surplus levy funds.

Your local Advisor is Carol Greaves carol.greaves@hants.gov.uk

Incuhive Business Support for Start Up and Small Businesses

Havant Borough Council have commissioned Incuhive to offer free support to businesses looking to grow or start-up across the Borough. 

Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS)

The British Business Bank's Growth Guarantee Scheme is the successor to the Recover Loan Scheme.

It is designed to support access to finance for UK smaller businesses as they look to invest and grow.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme launched with accredited lenders on 1 July 2024, with a wide range of products supported by different lenders, including term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme can generally support facility sizes of up to £2m and provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee.

To find out more please use the link below.

Do you know how to support your employees’ mental health?

Havant & East Hants Mind have developed a fully funded Workplace Suicide Prevention & Postvention programme, in partnership with Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and IOW Public Health, with the aim of supporting businesses to raise awareness and build confidence around suicide prevention, develop a mentally healthy workplace and create opportunities for early intervention.  

Their programme is offered as a bespoke service dependent on the needs of your organisation and can include consultation, guidance, access to an exclusive eGuide and webpage, and free workshop sessions for employees and line managers.

Please contact workplaceprevention@easthantsmind.org or click on the link below for more information.

Waterlooville and Leigh Park Vacant Shop Scheme

Havant Borough Council is taking another step forward in its plans to breathe new life into Waterlooville and Leigh Park centres, through a comprehensive programme of regeneration. 

Eight businesses have been announced as being successful in gaining funding to assist them in bringing their business to Waterlooville to help bring vacant units back into use.

Set to bring footfall back to the area following the shift in shopping habits and many high street brands either moving online or disappearing altogether, the council launched its vacant shop scheme in 2023 and has focused on businesses that will promote footfall to the town centre. 

Whilst the funds have been fully allocated in Waterlooville, there is still funding available in Leigh Park. We are working with businesses and organisations to transform empty shops in the Leigh Park District Centre, this opportunity is available to businesses who wish to open new shops in the area. 

Eligible projects could receive a grant ranging from £1,000 to £50,000, depending on the size of the property, to spend on capital works to bring empty shop units back into use.  

We want to encourage new uses and create a vibrant and animated atmosphere, including a wider mix of shops and facilities in the centre of our communities. 

To submit your expression of interest or share with others click the links below