North Worcestershire’s £70million regeneration opportunity
Significant proposals to build back better and support the economic recovery of the main town centres in North Worcestershire are being prepared with the support of £70 million external grant funding.
The funding has recently been secured by NWedR from the Future High Streets Fund, Towns Fund and the recently announced Levelling Up Fund and will support the delivery of major capital projects in Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and Redditch. The gross development value of the proposed projects exceeds £100 million.
Read the story.
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Next week is Global Entrepreneurship Week
There are lots of events and workshops for North Worcestershire businesses taking place to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week beginning the 8th November.
Enterprising Worcestershire have a daily programme of events to celebrate and empower entrepreneurs. Individuals and businesses will be able to find out more about the support on offer, meet the team and hear feedback from local businesses who have accessed support through the Enterprising Worcestershire programme. Find out more here.
Blue Orchid are hosting a series of free workshops for start-ups. These are short workshops designed to answer some of the key questions asked by new business owners.
Why not book in free for The Big Bang Theory – have you got the next big idea and Limited companies versus sole traders.
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Get the skills you or your business need to excel
Be the best you can be with STEM-Up, a free professional development programme that gives you access to the right training that you or your business need to grow.
You could be looking to learn new skills to help you nail that promotion, or be a business owner searching for the right courses to help your team develop
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How sustainable is your business? – Economic Survey now open
The Quarterly Economic Survey, sponsored by Worcestershire County Council’s Clean Growth and Low Carbon Group, has opened and Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce are looking to hear from businesses on how the past 3 months have been for your company.
The survey will ask respondents what the main challenges have been over the past 3 months and what are the main barriers for growth within your organisation. The subsequent report will provide an accurate snapshot of what challenges businesses face and will include a special focus on how they are thinking about climate change and adapting their business to be more sustainable.
Every survey submission entry will be in with a chance to win a cheese & wine afternoon tea for two at Centenary Lounge in Worcester. To enter into the prize draw please fill out the Quarterly Economic Survey here.
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Specialist Business Advisers: Webinar series
The expert team at Borwell is working with Worcestershire Business Central to provide fully funded technology consultancy to Worcestershire businesses. Learn best practices and useful tips on digital transformation for your business through five hosted webinars included in this programme. Borwell is hosting 5 one-hour webinars for this programme.
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Dedicated hotline and online launched for UK exporters
The government has announced that British businesses exporting to Europe will now be able to access one-to-one advice via a new phone and online service.
The Export Support Service provides a single point of contact and will help exporters navigate a range of complex queries from rules of origin to guidance on recognising professional qualifications and entering new markets.
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Fully funded tech and digital training
The Development Manager (TDM) is launching and delivering a fully funded Tech & Digital Training Programme for Three Counties 19 – 23 year olds to achieve C&G Level 3 Diploma and provide support into new roles.
The programme, consists of pathways in Tech and Networking, Digital Support / Marketing, Data, Cyber Security, UX / UI Design and Coding (Java and .NET).
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Connect with the Birmingham Festival
Announcing the Birmingham 2022 Festival – a six month festival shining a global spotlight on creativity in the West Midlands.
Running from March through to beyond the conclusion of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in September 2022, the festival will feature hundreds of creative commissions across the region including art, photography, dance, theatre, digital art and more.
The full programme will be announced in January – register your interest to be amongst the first to find out Birmingham 2022 Festival’s exciting range of events
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BetaDen now recruiting Cohort 5.0
Apply now to be part of the outstanding BetaDen supported business programme worth over £50,000.
Here are the features: 9-month programme, dedicated free office space within Malvern Hills Science Park environment, access to mentors for development in strategic marketing, raising investment, product development, intellectual property, company structure and accounting, mindset and much more. Proof of Concept grant funding worth £7,500, access to £1,000 marketing fund per founder, access to BetaDen's technology industry expertise network, events and Tech Talk, 5G test and evaluation package available subject to technology requirements, Leading technical advice in the use of 5G enabled IOT and IIOT technologies.
Applications close on Tuesday 30 November 2021.
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Could you provide goods and services to the Commonwealth Games?
Business opportunities are being posted now, right through to the start of the games, with the bulk of tenders going out next year. Games organisers will be searching for everything from marketing support, stationary through to larger infrastructure projects.
Larger businesses that win these contracts are also often required to contract a proportion of the work to smaller, more diverse businesses via their own tendering processes.
FREE Tender Readiness Workshops and Grants of £2,500
Workshops and grants are available from Aston University to diverse businesses in the GBSLEP area which includes North Worcestershire. This includes those owned, part owned or managed by women, black & minority ethnic and young entrepreneurs (u-25). Other groups are also eligible. Places are limited, so email mpascommunications@gmail.com to express an interest. Applications close on Friday 12 November 2021.
Following the online workshops, the participating businesses can access grants of up to £2,500 (matched), to buy services such as:
- Bid writing; training in bid writing / support in bid writing.
- Marketing & branding e.g. developing websites and marketing material
- Supporting the cost of additional specialised consultancy support
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New Sustain & Grow Grant
Grants of up to £15,000 providing up to 40% of project costs, are available to eligible Worcestershire SMEs operating B2B that can evidence the impact of Covid-19 across the business, have a project to help address the challenges brought by the pandemic eg diversification, improved productivity OR, have a project necessary to capitalize on opportunities created by Covid-1, have not previously received a H2HB grant
The Graduate Recruitment Grant
This grant is available to eligible businesses to enable them to create a graduate role for a recent graduate resident in the county. The grant will contribute 40% of gross salary costs for the first 6 months to a maximum of £5000.
Full information regarding both the Sustain & Grow and Graduate Grants please visit our website Here2Help Business | Worcestershire County Council. Initial interest in each grant should be made via submitting an Expression of Interest which is available to download from the appropriate webpage.
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Are you a local business looking to go greener?
Or maybe you are concerned about rising electricity bills? Worcestershire County Council’s clean growth team are on hand to help. A number of clean growth grants are still available to help to support local businesses to become greener and cut their costs.
Over the last four years, Worcestershire County Council and its partners have supported around 800 businesses and provided over £3.3million worth of funding to help them become greener.
Both the Business Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP) and the Low Carbon Opportunities Programme (LOCOP) offer free assessments and grants to eligible local businesses to support clean growth and help Worcestershire businesses save money. Advice and grants are also available through LOCOP to help businesses develop and commercialise innovative ideas, that help others to be green.
Both programmes are part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
For more information about eligibility, please visit the Clean Growth pages of the Worcestershire Business Central or email sustainability@worcestershire.gov.uk
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Worcestershire County COVID-19 updates
You can get the daily updates on Worcestershire wide Covid-19 rates on our COVID-19 Dashboard. If you are fully vaccinated or under 18, you do not need to self-isolate following close contact with someone who has COVID-19. You still need to take a PCR test. If the test is positive, you will then need to self-isolate. Find out more at the NHS website.
Covid-19 testing - which test should you take?
Testing for COVID-19 is key to getting back to normal. Our new ‘PCR vs LFT’ webpage provides information on which test should be taken and where to access them.
Find out which test to take
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