Is your business based in the borough/district of Cannock Chase, the Staffordshire Moorlands, Tamworth, Newcastle- under-Lyme or South Staffordshire?  A grant of up to £5k may be waiting for you.

The pandemic has been really tough on most small and medium businesses - but there is cash ready and waiting to help you if you’re looking to dust yourself down and commit to rebuilding your business and grow.  It’s time to thrive, not just survive.

Got a plan to grow but need professional expertise to guide you and get you there?   Need some extra finance to make your workforce more agile and help you get to the next level?  Looking to diversify into other business areas but need the know-how and the equipment to do it?  Need to get set up in e-commerce but don’t have the funds or know where to start?  

Staffordshire County Council has joined with all the district and borough councils in Staffordshire to pool resources to offer you a grant of £2k to £5k to help you regroup and grow - to buy in equipment, expertise or get on the e-commerce wave that now needs to be a part of everyone’s business.  

This grant has already given many businesses the solid base they need to stop crossing their fingers and get on with realising their business’s full potential.

Examples of support we have already given are:

• Small piece of machinery for a steel fabrication company to eliminate the need for outsourcing work thus reducing operation costs
• Video and photography equipment for a supplier of PPE to create a virtual showroom on their website.
• Small piece of machinery for a signage manufacture to facilitate diversification of the business and introduce more products.
• Website development for a range of different businesses to improve their SEO
• Equipment for a café to enable them to offer a wider range of products
• Equipment to help open up new markets for an electrical contractor.
• Professional help to get set up in e-commerce.

It's easy to get started by expressing an interest, and we’ll take you through the process.

Note: This funding is only available to businesses based in the boroughs/districts of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire Moorlands, Tamworth, Newcastle-under-Lyme or South Staffordshire.  Funding in other areas has been allocated. 

Email us to find out if what you've got in mind can be paid for with this grant- tothrive@staffordshire.gov.uk

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In ceramics?  Is the future not quite in focus?  A current survey of the ceramics industry is showing a potential skills crisis on the horizon for most ceramics companies. 

The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership is working with the British Ceramics Confederation and the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce to find out how the industry feels around skills shortages, recruitment difficulties, the impact of Covid-19 on skills, an ageing workforce and engagement with schools and colleges.

Now's your opportunity to tell them about the challenges you're facing, and what you need so partners can develop one co-ordinated package of support and initiatives to ensure the ceramics industry can grow into a world-leading sector.

Got five minutes to help shape the future of ceramics?

Please COMPLETE THE SHORT SURVEY by 5pm Thursday 9th September.

Digital technology specialists have been appointed across the West Midlands to boost productivity and growth as part of the £1.9 million Made Smarter programme.

The five experienced digital experts will be sharing their knowledge to improve the digital skills of employees to make a difference to the day-to-day operations of small and medium sized manufacturing and engineering businesses through a variety of ways including reducing costs, improving manufacturing times or helping to win more overseas contracts.

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Blood pressure - do you know your numbers?

6 million people in the UK have high blood pressure and don’t even know it! Every day in the UK, 350 people have a stroke or heart attack that could have been prevented.

Do you know your blood pressure numbers? Do your employees know theirs?  If not, Everyone Health can help.

Everyone Health are working with businesses across Staffordshire (excluding Stoke-on-Trent) to help employees to receive their free NHS Health Check. These are available to people aged 40-74, who do not have a pre-existing health condition and have not had the check completed within the last 5 years.

Interested businesses with a high proportion of employees over 40, can contact Everyone Health to arrange an on-site NHS Health Check Day for staff. The check involves a blood pressure check and BMI calculation, as well as a finger prick blood test for high cholesterol.

For more information, visit Staffordshire County Council’s Workplace Health webpages.