Facilities at Portsmouth Enterprise Centre on Quartremaine Road have been improved to support local businesses.
The reception area has been redesigned to include a new accessible business hub and events space. Three new meeting rooms have also been created and are already generating additional income for the centre. New energy saving LED lighting was also installed.
Alan Lowe, Enterprise Centres Manager said
"Our reception area was a dead space, not used by our businesses and did not fully meet the needs for people with disabilities.
The refurbishment of these facilities is helping us to meet changing business needs for smaller, affordable offices and connected co-working, drop-in spaces."
 Portsmouth family business Citrus Facilities Management is saving 7,000 plastic bottles a year from landfill by kitting out staff in uniforms made from recycled plastic. first to kit staff out in uniforms made from 7,000 plastic bottles.
The uniforms have been rolled out following a full trial in 2021 and are made from a blend of plastic bottles and organic cotton, making them 100 per cent sustainable.
Citrus is an award winning facilities management company based in Portsmouth. The company had been inspired by Portsmouth International Port, which is currently rolling out a green strategy.
 A major event designed to bring together investors, developers, political representatives, and sector experts took place last week at Lakeside in Portsmouth. The Regenerate South Annual Conference attracted delegates from across the Central South region including Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth.
Leader of Portsmouth City Council, Cllr Gerald Vernon Jackson welcomed delegates and reiterated the city was open to working with investors who were keen to get projects out of the ground.
Keynote speaker, Mark Davy, Founder and CEO of Futurecity, explored the important role placemaking methods have when it comes to creating places that can compete for investment and business. Mark has worked on many major projects across the world, creating a narrative that attracts investment and captures the imagination of people living there.
He argued that ambitious initiatives like the new Central South region, can provide incredible opportunities for a cluster of cities defined by creative expression, taking a creative approach to the ‘hardware’ of cities such as infrastructure, landscape and architecture, boulevards, squares and parks and in doing so creating the city as a ‘gallery without walls’.
He believes culture is the key to unlocking the seductive power of cities and a catalyst and tool for defining a place’s individuality. Our work, play, home life is merging and a new cultural language is emerging to describe the transition of our cities from places of manufacture to factories for ideas.
 Kevin Watkins, member of Shaping Portsmouth, is currently taking part in the government's Help to Grow Management programme at the University of Portsmouth.
Through the programme, Kevin was introduced to Micro-Fresh and saw that their technology could help his upcoming mission to row across the Atlantic in support of charity Action Aid. Micro-Fresh agreed to support Kevin by treating his boat's cushions to keep them free from odour, bacteria, mildew and mould throughout the long journey.
According to Kevin the course is a real mix of expertise not only from the sessions but from people from the cohort as well. Networking brings an enormous benefit to him. He has also found the Marketing and Branding modules useful as they encouraged him to think differently and look at the brand from a customer perspective. Being only a few weeks on the course he already sees value for his business.
Under a new funding scheme, Multiply, employers looking to boost their workforce’s skills will be able to work with their council and training providers to deliver Maths GCSEs or work-ready Functional Skills Qualifications.
Adults looking to improve their numeracy skills are set to benefit from a £270 million investment in new courses, helping to level up opportunities for more people to progress and get good, well-paid jobs. Multiply will offer adults who do not already have a GCSE grade C/4 or higher in Maths or equivalent, free flexible courses that fit around their lives.
Around 17 million adults in England , half of the working-age population , have the numeracy skills of primary school children. Poor numeracy skills can hold people back from having the confidence to get on in life and into work. Those who improve their numeracy skills are more likely to be in employment, have higher wages, and better wellbeing.
Courses are expected to be available this autumn in person or online, at work or at home, and either on a part time or intensive basis. These courses will equip adults across the UK with the numeracy skills they need to fulfil their potential.
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