Promoting economic growth in Warwickshire remains a high priority

Welcome to the March edition of Warwickshire Means Business (WMB), our bi-monthly update of news, features and information for the business community.

You will have heard or read about the Chancellor, George Osborne’s Budget statement where further savings were announced. At Warwickshire County Council we too have set our budget and, in these difficult times for all local authorities, we are facing the need to make significant savings.

Despite this pressure, we remain fully committed to promoting economic growth across Warwickshire - in towns and rural areas, in every part of the county and every sector of business.

It’s vital that we don’t forget, that for all the challenges we face, Warwickshire remains one of the best places in which to live and work, and we are working hard to promote this message to potential investors, regionally, nationally and overseas. For example, this week, we are making sure Warwickshire remains at the forefront of investors’ minds with our presence at MIPIM - the world’s leading property show, which brings unrivalled access to the greatest number of development projects and sources of capital worldwide. Promoting the county at major events such as this is crucial in securing a continued prosperous future for our region.

Also vital, is the day to day work we do to help stimulate economic growth in Warwickshire. Much of that work involves young people, equipping them with the skills to pursue a career. Our £2.4million Skills for Employment programme is engaged in building a strong, joined-up education and skills system to secure the region’s future economic growth. It was extremely encouraging to see so many employers, education-providers and students at our second Skills Conference, held in Warwick last month.

We also need to ensure that businesses are making the most of the fantastic potential of the young people we have in Warwickshire - and the perfect way to do that is through apprenticeships. Here at Warwickshire County Council, apprentices make a big contribution to our work. Many of our apprentices have taken advantage of the opportunity to learn skills and secure qualifications which have led to an excellent career here, or elsewhere. In this edition of WMB, you can find out about Apprenticeship Week and see a video about what our apprentices have been up to.

By taking on an apprentice, a business is able to train a young person with talent, into a bespoke employee - a win win situation! If you’re a business that is thinking of taking on an apprentice, please contact our Apprenticeship Hub at: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/getanapprentice

Also in this edition of WMB there are many other stories of success in Warwickshire. It’s great to hear Holland & Barrett group legal director Roger Craddock reveal that Nuneaton "fits the bill perfectly" as the company's national HQ. More very good news from Nuneaton comes from the regeneration of Abbey Green.

Elsewhere, Sarah Windrum offers some fascinating and punchy thoughts on women in business. And we introduce Alex Williams of Warwickshire Business Watch, our new initiative to help combat the threat of cyber-crime. Please do contact Alex to see how he could help you.

I hope you enjoy reading this edition of WMB and wish you all a new financial year full of the green shoots of prosperity.