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Welcome to the June edition of Test Valley Business Matters.
We would first like to remind you that nominations for the Test Valley Business Awards close on Friday 28 June at 1pm. Please get your entries in! We have a huge range of fantastic businesses in our borough and would like as many of you to be represented as possible.
This month, in the Skills and Employment section, we'd like to highlight that there is a suite of new Skills Bootcamps available which can help with both recruitment and the upskilling of existing staff. We are also flagging that Construction Scheme Certificate Scheme Industry Accreditation (IA) cards for construction expire at the end of this year - we've included links to the Construction Industry Training Board guidance on this below.
A Code of Practice comes into effect on 1 July 2024 to promote fairness and transparency in the distribution of tips. Employers must have regard to this when designing and implementing their tipping policies.
By law, employers are required to pass on all tips and service charges to workers and ensure that tips are distributed in a fair and transparent manner, as set out in a written policy. They must have fair processes in place for resolving any issues or queries. Employers must also keep written records of all tips paid.
The Code discusses factors that employers might consider when designing their policy on allocation of tips. These might include type of role, basic pay, performance and levels of responsibility. It says that employers should consult with workers to seek broad agreement on the allocation system that they choose. The Code also covers methods of allocation.
More detail can be found here: Code of practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips (www.gov.uk).
It makes sound economic sense for businesses to minimise their waste. We have been approached by A Good Thing, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that matchmakes goods that are no longer required by businesses with local charities, meaning that less goes to landfill and more to a good cause. Typically, donated items include office furniture, IT equipment and marketing giveaways, but they accept anything that is safe, in working order and legal. If you have goods to donate, you need to sign up on their web based app: A Good Thing.
The service is free to charities and for businesses to make small offers. For large offers (for example full office clear outs) businesses are asked to pay £29 for one month.
IncuHive is running net zero workshops in June and July. Test Valley Borough Council has capital grants available worth £3750 to help rural businesses with decarbonisation measures - the workshops will provide more information on the process and the sorts of things you might fund. Sign up for the workshops via this page: Upcoming Events (incuhive.co.uk). More information on the scheme can be found here: Net Zero Business Support (incuhive.co.uk).
The Catalyst Business Accelerator Programme at the University of Southampton Science Park will support around ten start-up or early-stage science and technology companies over a six-month period from September 2024 to March 2025. The companies will benefit from high level one-to-one mentoring, workshops with subject experts, peer group support, and the opportunity to be a part of the innovation community. If you are interested in applying for a place, please visit The Catalyst Programme | Southampton Science Park. You will need to fill in an online form by 17 June 2024 and attend a selection day event.
Capital funding of £5k to £25k is available through our Rural England Prosperity Funds to fund up to 50% of a project for a rural business. Grants so far approved include repurposing and upgrading buildings for commercial uses, purchase of equipment, and capital costs for new product development. More information can be found here: Rural England Prosperity Fund | Test Valley Borough Council and if you would like to discuss an idea, please contact pfunds@testvalley.gov.uk.
Hampshire County Council is funding schemes to improve landscapes and nature connectivity. Through their 'Shoots Along the Routes' scheme, they will fund new hedges and trees along the A30, A343, A3057, A3090, B3048, B3049, B3084 and B3400. The scheme covers the cost of the trees and hedges; the landowner plants them. If you have land along those routes, please see Shoots along the routes | Hampshire County Council (hants.gov.uk) for more information.
Funding is also available for trials of disease resistant elm trees. If you are interested in planting elm trees, please contact treeplanting@hants.gov.uk.
If you need a corporate venue within Andover, a variety of spaces in The Lights are available to hire. These range from the Board Room which takes up to 14 people to the auditorium which accommodates 200. For more information call our Commercial Manager on 01264 368835 or visit www.thelights.org.uk/hiring-us.
Businesses of all sizes across Hampshire can access skills bootcamps either as a recruitment tool or for training and upskilling your existing workforce. Courses are now available in the following areas:
- Early Years
- Health and Social Care
- Project Management
- Air Source Heat Pumps
- Electric Vehicle Charge Point Installation
- Retrofit
- Coding (full stack software developer)
- Construction (CSCS Green labourer and rough terrain fork truck licence)
- Construction trades (plastering, brickwork, tiling drywall etc)
- Engineering (welding and fabrication)
- Data Analytics (python and pandas etc)
- Digital Marketing
- Hospitality (customer service and management)
If you want to recruit in one of these areas, you can contact the team at skills.bootcamps@hants.gov.uk about interviewing candidates on completion of their courses. If you want to send current employees on the courses, there is a small employer contribution to the cost (10% for companies with fewer than 250 employees; 30% for larger companies). Contact skills.bootcamps@hants.gov.uk or visit All Skills Bootcamps Hampshire County Council for further information.
From 31 December 2024, all Construction Skills Certificate Scheme (CSCS) Industry Accreditation cards will expire, and replacement cards must be achieved via qualification. The CSCS Industry Accreditation | Official CSCS Website provides tailored advice for those currently holding an industry accredited black manager card, gold supervisory card, gold skilled worker card or blue skilled worker card. The qualifications now required can be achieved via various methods such as on-site assessment, and CITB grants are available to CITB-registered employers to help with the costs.
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