Video Transcript
Hello and welcome to the August edition of the Worcestershire Business Support Newsletter. Whilst the summer itself has proven to be a scorching one, temperature wise, the business support offer shows no signs of cooling down as we approach the autumn with the team out and about, supporting businesses at events, webinars and 1 to 1 meetings.
Before we start, I’d just like to highlight for any parents or guardians that are watching, if you have a young person collecting their exam results this summer and they’re unsure of what they’d like to do next, or they want to better understand their future options, please make sure to speak to the Careers Worcestershire team. Careers Worcestershire and their youth hubs are available to help those aged 16 to 24 who are collecting their results to understand the options available to them, whether it’s about further education options, apprenticeships, university or getting started with a job, the team can help. Make sure to check out their website and give them a call.
As mentioned previously, we’ve launched some new business support schemes for the 26/27 financial year and one that I’d like to shine a spotlight on for this month is Advance Worcestershire. Advance Worcestershire is a fully funded business support program for ambitious, established SMEs in Worcestershire. Delivered by Oxford Innovation Advice on behalf of Worcestershire County Council, the program helps businesses unlock growth, improve productivity and prepare for the future through tailored support in innovation, investment readiness and manufacturing. The program is accepting applications now, so be sure to read the full article in the newsletter to find out more about this new business support offer.
There are also a variety of events coming up, so as always, I’d recommend visiting our events portal on the Growth Hub website to stay updated on those which are of interest to you and your business. We post updates on a wide range of business support events and webinars, regardless of the organiser, to help businesses navigate what is out there. But there are a few upcoming events that I’d like to highlight now.
First up, our team will be delivering a new talent and skills event series called Creating Your Future Workforce. This event series will help businesses to tackle the recruitment and retention challenges that they’re facing. The first event, taking place on the 23rd of September, will be focusing on recruitment and helping businesses understand the talent challenge. Attendees will hear about the current national picture and then from a range of local partners, about the support programs and funds available. Spaces are limited, so make sure to follow the link in the newsletter to book on.
Secondly, we’ll have a variety of innovation events taking place through September from an AI support workshop delivered by BetaDen and our Women in Technology and Innovation community, to a fourth pitching event for our Catalyse Angel network. Details on these events can be found in the newsletter and on our events portal, so please make sure to take a look.
And finally, our team will be exhibiting at the Chamber of Commerce Business Expo on the 1st of October. This is a great opportunity for you to engage with local businesses from across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. And if you want to know more about the business support available, you can come along and talk to our growth hub and business support teams. Stand spaces are still available for the expo, so please have a read of the article in the newsletter to find out more.
As you can see, there’s plenty coming up to support local businesses, so make sure to stay in touch with the Growth Hub as we enter the autumn months to be at the forefront of future updates about the business support that’s available to you, and we’ll see you next time.
