Hello and welcome to the January edition of Warwickshire Means Business.

A bumper edition this month brings plenty of positive news and I am delighted that this includes the launch of Warwickshire County Council’s new campaign, ‘Women in Engineering 2025.’ Leading up to International Women in Engineering Day on June 23rd, this campaign, delivered by Invest Warwickshire, Warwickshire Careers Hub and Warwickshire Skills Hub, will add its weight to the work already underway to encourage women of all ages to consider a career in engineering in its various forms.

Skills are very much in the spotlight this month as we reflect upon another successful Careers Leaders Industry Insights Day, this time focusing on the Care and Early Years sectors. We also report how funding from the Skills Escalator, a UK Shared Prosperity Fund-backed programme is enabling businesses across the county to grow. MV Composites in Leamington and Goodflex Rubber in Alcester are two of the companies to have benefited from the training enabled by Escalator support.  

 

Apprenticeship Week is around the corner so we hear how apprentices have played a huge part in the success of an Atherstone nursery. There are also full details of all the ways in which Warwickshire Skills Hub can assist and support businesses looking to take the apprenticeship route.

 

Coventry & Warwickshire’s wonderful Food & Drink Sector is celebrated in the launch of the 2025 Foodie Awards. We report the latest step forward for the planned Gigafactory, part of the West Midlands Investment Zone, which will bring up to 6,000 jobs to our county. Despite the challenges of recent times, our local economy remains strong and in National Productivity Week it is great to hear that 278 businesses have reported increased productivity following support from the Business Growth Warwickshire programme.

 

I am very proud of the business support that is delivered by Warwickshire County Council and we want it to always remain as relevant as possible. That support needs to evolve just as rapidly as the business world evolves, so please do help us by completing our Access to Finance survey.

 

As always, our articles and features contain all the links you need for full information on the wide range of business support available and we bring the customary comprehensive round-up of upcoming business events and local business news-in-brief.

 

I hope you enjoy this edition of Warwickshire Means Business as it proudly closes in on three million views…one of your clicks might be the three millionth!

Best wishes,

Mark