To start this month’s newsletter, I’d like to take a moment to say how deeply saddened Worcestershire growth hub and the wider LEP team were hearing about the news of Queen Elizabeth II passing. The thoughts of the whole organization with the Royal family during this difficult period.

So, we are here, we are in September. Hopefully, you managed to enjoy a good summer and managed to get out in the sun and enjoy some of that glorious weather we had. We have been very busy behind the scenes in Worcestershire Growth Hub. And as you would have previously heard me mention, we’ve been preparing our professional business advisor program to return. This offers free 1-to-1 business advice on key topics such as financial strategy, digital adoption and much, much more. This program has come at the perfect time because we recognise, and we speak to businesses every day and they tell us that they are experiencing challenges like nothing they’ve seen before. And the news, let’s be honest, can look bleak. So, this free support is here to help guide and steer you and your business through this difficult time. You can still register your organization for this support, and you can select multiple areas of support if you like.

Alongside this, our business advisors are also providing a series of free webinars for Worcestershire businesses based on those key topics that they’re hearing when they go in and support our businesses. You can check out our website to find out all the information on these webinars and how you can reserve a space. We will also be sending reminder emails about these as they come through, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

Following feedback from businesses, I’m delighted to inform you that Worcestershire Growth Hub is running a business forum next week on the 27th of September. This follows on from our successful first forum we held when we were together, and we brought over 60 businesses, along with the public sector partners, to discuss the current challenges facing businesses and look at opportunities. So, the Business Forum on the 27th is going to be focused on skills and recruitment, which, as I mentioned, we know is a real challenge for businesses. There are few spaces remaining, so I’d encourage any local employers who are facing skills, and challenges to come along. Learn more about the current skills and recruitment support on offer and be part of a discussion on what the future support should look like. Details are in the newsletter about this event.

Now it’s clear from the news that energy is a key concern nationally at the moment. And this is a great time to remind you and your organisation that there is funding and support available to help businesses with installing new, more energy-efficient lighting or machinery, as well as dedicated professionals on hand to discuss what changes your businesses could make to become more sustainable and reduce your costs. If you’d like to find out more about the clean energy support available, please contact our team.

Finally, we are now firmly in events season with a plethora of business support events taking place over the next few months. The Worcestershire Growth Hub team will be at the majority of these events, and this is a great chance to engage with the team face to face and discover how your growth hub can help you develop your business. Have a look through the newsletter to see the upcoming events and where you can engage with the team.

So that’s it. It’s been an eventful summer and probably an even more eventful September. But we are delighted to still be here supporting you and your business, and I look forward to speaking to you in October.