WARWICKSHIRE MEANS BUSINESS

Welcome from Mark Ryder

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

In this edition we feature two recently-launched initiatives which we believe will benefit businesses and young people seeking to start and build their careers for many  years to come.

It was great to see so many businesses represented at the recent event to officially launch the Supportive Employers Forum. There was a real commitment in the room to providing more supported internships for people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and it is great news that these skills are to be more fully exploited and given the opportunity to grow.

Also recently up and running is our Apprentice Levy Share Programme. This new scheme will hold a fund of £300,000 this year to help businesses cover the full training costs associated with apprenticeships. It has been created principally to offer apprenticeship support but will also connect businesses to the numerous other ways in which the council and its partners offer support.

A scheme which has been up and running very successfully for some time is Liftshare and it is fantastic news that three local business alone have saved more than a million pounds by participating in the scheme. The benefits of Liftshare, in terms of both the environment and cost, are colossal and I would urge all businesses to sign up.

Also in this edition of Warwickshire Means Business we turn the spotlight on Mark Habberley, whose late-night brainwave while walking his dog in a dark Warwickshire lane has been turned into a budding start up by the right business support.

This month we welcomed new senior economist Sunny Parekh to our Economy & Skills team and this edition's guest columnist is Warwickshire County Council's Chief Executive Monica Fogarty who reflects that we have so much to be proud of within Coventry & Warwickshire's "absolute diamond of an economy."

I hope you enjoy this edition of WMB. If you have a story, would like to contribute a guest column, or think there is an issue that we should cover in a future edition, please email brianhalford@warwickshire.gov.uk.

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