Featured News
New redundancy support partnership service launched
"The Redundancy Support Service is a great example of partnership working at its best...we hope as many people as possible, who need the service, will take advantage of the fantastic, free assistance on offer.”
A new partnership service has been launched to support staff and businesses affected by redundancy.
Just one of the consequences of Covid-19 has been the huge impact on business income and the knock-on effect of increased numbers of redundancies.
In response, Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council have joined forces with expert industry partners to form Coventry & Warwickshire Redundancy Support Service - open to both individuals and businesses.
Partners include:
- Department for Work & Pensions
- National Careers Service
- Skills Support for the Workforce
- Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Hub
- Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce
- Coventry & Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust
- Federation of Small businesses
The service will support local businesses who are either considering redundancies, or have already made the decision. They will receive a tailored support package that meets the individual need of the business and its employees, with opportunities in coming weeks to attend workshops and download information packs.
While in some cases job losses might be inevitable, the service aims to engage with those businesses that are working through their options and where assistance may be helpful. From emergency funding and finance opportunities, to upskilling and staff retainment options, the C&W Redundancy Support Service will work with businesses to explore the options available and build action plans to become more sustainable and prevent job losses and company closures wherever possible.
Where redundancy is unavoidable, the service will be on hand to guide and support both individuals and businesses into their next venture, whether that be new employment, retraining or further education.
As part of this new collaboration, a new online portal will act as the front door and digital platform for the service: Coventry & Warwickshire Redundancy Support. The portal allows you to register as either a business, or an individual.
It’s designed to be the go-to place for redundancy support, including local employment opportunities. It will also link back to the employment and skills teams based at the Coventry City Council’s Employer Hub and the Warwickshire Skills Hub.
The C&W Redundancy Support Service team of local experts will be hosting monthly information and Q and A events tailored to either businesses, or individuals. If open events are not for you, confidential one-to-one sessions can be arranged on request.
Cllr Jim O’Boyle Cabinet member for Jobs and Regeneration said, “This partnership has a vital role to play for businesses and individuals who are facing an uncertain future. There no doubt that the impacts of the pandemic have been devastating for some, so this kind of individual, tailored support will be really important in helping people find new work.
“Between them, the partners working together in this new service, have a wide range of expertise which I’m sure will be welcomed by businesses at the moment.”
Cllr Kevin Maton, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “This is an important new service and I’m pleased part of the support will come in the form of providing skills and training. We know how important it will be for people to have the opportunity to learn new skills so they have the best chance of re-joining the job market or even starting up a new business.”
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “The economic impact of Covid-19 is enormous and right from the start, we understood that a coordinated approach across the county was key. The Redundancy Support Service is a great example of partnership working at its best. This new service is designed to support local businesses and individuals through these turbulent times, as they make difficult decisions in the months, possibly years, to come. We hope as many people as possible, who need the service, will take advantage of the fantastic, free assistance on offer.”
To view full details of the Coventry and Warwickshire Redundancy support services please visit here.
Megalab will bring up to 2,000 jobs to Warwickshire
Around 2,000 jobs will be created in Warwickshire early next year after Leamington Spa was chosen as a site for one of the largest diagnostic facilities in the UK.
In the battle against COVID-19, the Government has announced that Leamington will be home to one of two vast new testing laboratories which will play a key role in the drive to increase national testing capacity. The other lab will be in Scotland.
In the immediate term, the Leamington laboratory will be dedicated to the National Testing Programme for COVID-19 and, when at full capacity, will process up to 300,000 tests a day.
Up to 2,000 new jobs, including those in the associated manufacturing and supply chain, will be created in the area when the lab is fully staffed and operating 24 hours a day. On-site jobs will range from scientists and lab technicians to administrative and warehouse roles, bringing a huge boost for local employment and supply chain businesses.
Warwickshire County Council is working with colleagues across all levels of government to support recruitment for the new laboratory and also ensure that local businesses have all the information they need about potential opportunities.
Leader of Warwickshire County Council, Cllr Izzi Seccombe said:“Warwickshire remains a strategically located destination within the UK for investment and the Government announcement to build a new diagnostic testing laboratory here reinforces that.
“The new facility will play an important role in the region’s recovery, bringing with it up to 2,000 jobs providing a much-needed boost to our economy. But it is also testament to the work that has gone into making Warwickshire such a standard bearer of technology and innovation. We have a wide range of cutting-edge enterprises based in the county and a tremendous pipeline of talent with two universities close by; to be selected once again by the Government to lead such a critical piece of work, demonstrates the trust and the confidence that our reputation brings.”
A recruitment drive has already started for the Leamington Spa lab with more details available here: https://www.ttlaboratoryjobs.com/
SSG programme offers businesses unique, in-depth support
"We knew that a programme is needed that is different to any other; one that offers a level of in-depth support which takes into account the emotional impact of the pandemic alongside the economic worries."
Helping businesses deal with the emotional challenges as well as financial pressures of the pandemic is at the heart of a Warwickshire County Council programme supporting the worst-affected sectors during the pandemic crisis.
The Survive, Sustain & Grow programme, part of the county council's £6million COVID-19 Recovery Plan, was launched to support business primarily in tourism, hospitality and retail. With those sectors hit hard by the pandemic, the council's Economy & Skills team moved swiftly to devise and roll out a programme to make support available as quickly as possible.
The £300k Survive, Sustain & Grow initiative offers an intensive, face-to-face consultation to businesses - but provides much more than traditional business support.
This very challenging year has brought considerable stress and anxiety to people faced with difficulties in running businesses into which they have put their heart and soul. So the SSG programme's specialist consultants provide a listening ear as well as sound practical advice.
"The challenges faced by businesses at this time are different, and on a different scale, to any other," said SSG lead consultant Jagdish Soor. "So Warwickshire County Council knew that a programme is needed that is different to any other; one that offers a level of in-depth support which takes into account the emotional impact of the pandemic alongside the economic worries.
"That's what the SSG does. Myself and other highly experienced consultants delve deep into the business to really understand it and the people running it.
"It is a programme of short, intensive support. With every business on the scheme, we carry out an in-depth support of between five to eight hours. We discuss what the business looked like pre-COVID, what it might look like after the pandemic and pinpoint what might be needed to make it survive and then prosper.
"Sometimes, that is building work. For example, a number of cafes have used the advice to improve outdoor eating areas that will benefit them far into the future. Our conversations with others led them to thinking about ways they can diversify.
"Delving into the businesses in depth means we can really flag up all the options, sometimes including some that even our consultants didn't expect. It's amazing what great things can happen when you have a good conversation.
"The programme has really struck a chord. We've had a lot of applicants and some really good stuff is happening from the programme that will strengthen businesses for the longer term as well as supporting them through the now."
All support through the programme is provided free of charge and it is open to all micro and Warwickshire-based small enterprises in the Retail, Hospitality, Tourism and other General business sectors.
New grant support package grants available to businesses
A new grant support package for businesses forced to temporarily close by the latest lockdown or those adversely impacted by national restrictions or Covid-19 has been launched by central Government.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant provides grants of up to £3,000 to businesses with a rateable value who pay business rates which have been forced to close by government. This includes non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality businesses.
The Additional Restrictions Grant is for businesses that have not been mandated to close, but which are adversely impacted by national restrictions and/ or other factors associated with COVID-19.
Both schemes are administered by the District and Borough Councils in Warwickshire. For more information, please visit your local borough/ district website: Warwick District, Nuneaton & Bedworth, North Warwickshire, Rugby or Stratford.
The grants from central government, which are aimed primarily at helping businesses deal with short term, cash flow issues, sit alongside the wide range of Warwickshire County Council support designed to help build resilience for the longer term.
Enterprising Hiller's harness SSG expertise to build for the future
"The expert advice we received though the SSG programme was invaluable and really made us understand where we needed to take the business."
Jobs at a major employer in the county's rural economy will be safeguarded in the short and longer terms by support from Warwickshire County Council's Survive, Sustain & Grow programme.
The SSG programme, part of the county council's £6million COVID-19 Recovery Plan, was swiftly launched by the council in light of the pandemic to support businesses in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors.
Farm shop AH Hiller's & Son, in Dunnington just outside Alcester, has a presence in all those sectors, so was quick to engage with the programme following a referral from Jim Clark, at Coventry and Warwickshire LEP Growth Hub.
Hiller's, which also received a separate £35,000 Small Capital Grant from the county council, is now planning an expansion which will strengthen the business both in the immediate term and into the future, post-pandemic.
The long-established business employs more than 90 people and those jobs have been safeguarded, with new ones to be created following strategic advice from specialist consultants on the SSG programme.
A permanent extension will be erected to enable the business to provide a higher-end food and drinks experience and increase capacity. The new space will also allow for diversification into the hosting of events and functions, which could potentially see an increase in opening hours in order to host such events.
Hiller's director Sally Haines said: "Pre COVID-19, the restaurant was often full to capacity. We sometimes opened a temporary extension to the rear but this could only be used at certain times, weather permitting, so we reached the stage where we were unable to accommodate customer demand or fulfil the quality of service.
"This new space will not only provide additional covers for the restaurant but enable us to diversify. The investment will allow the business to grow and take on additional staff.
"The expert advice we received through the SSG programme was invaluable and really made us understand where we needed to take the business."
Hiller's extension will have knock-on benefits for the rural economy in Warwickshire. The new extension will be contracted to a local company while safeguarding a business which always looks to source products from the local supply chain.
SSG programme lead consultant Jagdish Soor: "It has been a pleasure to work with Hiller's who have shown a really proactive and enterprising approach to very difficult trading circumstances for the hospitality industry.
"It is a long-established business which is a significant employer in Warwickshire's tourism, hospitality and retail sectors and I am delighted that, with the support of the county council, they are destined to remain so far into the future."
Forward-thinking pub business urges others to join them in planning for the future
"The filming was highly professional and they asked some really good questions which made us think about what we do."
A Kenilworth pub is well-placed to attract the highest calibre recruits going forward thanks to a Warwickshire County Council programme to support businesses in the hospitality industry.
The Virgins & Castle, in High Street, is one of dozens of companies throughout the county to have benefited from the Future Careers Digital Market Place project.
The project provides a free digital media opportunity for businesses to work with a filming company to produce two videos which showcase their current and future employment and career pathways. A four-hour filming slot produces two short films – one aimed at young people, particularly those still at schools or due to finish this year, and one aimed at those seeking employment or a career change.
With the hospitality sector severely affected by the pandemic, the scheme, delivered as part of the council's wide-reaching Skills for Employment programme, will help business to be as well-equipped as possible to bounce back after lockdown.
Marc Hornby, co-founder of Caviar & Chips, which runs the Virgins & Castle, believes the input of the Future Careers Digital Market Place project will be highly beneficial to his business.
"It is great to have really good, polished films which showcase our business and show young people what we can offer as a career," said Marc. "They were very impressively put together. The filming was highly professional and they asked some really good questions which made us think about what we do.
"Sometimes when people think of the hospitality industry, the first thing they think of is long, unsociable hours. There is some of that, and it is hard work, but it is a brilliant industry to work in. It builds social and communication skills and a sense of teamwork like no other. We employ 39 people at the Virgins & Castle and are proud of every one of them.
"We are looking to recruit for when things return closer to normal, the head chef is already looking for a couple staff, so these films will help get us out there and attract the people we want."
Visiting businesses to make the films has had to be put on hold this month, but the programme is ready to resume in earnest after lockdown with six filming dates already booked at businesses in December and the New Year.
Warwickshire County Council leader, Cllr Izzi Seccombe said: "I am delighted that the Virgins & Castle is set to go from strength to strength with the support of our Future Careers Digital Market Place scheme.
"Our hospitality sector has been hit hard this year, but I know that it has the quality and the resilience to bounce back and this scheme will really help. It will connect excellent, forward-thinking businesses like the Virgins & Castle with the talented young recruits they need."
The Warwickshire Skills team are still on the lookout for more businesses, especially in the retail, IT and finance sectors, to get involved. If you are interested or would like to find out more, please contact nikitatakhar@warwickshire.gov.uk
To keep right up to date with what the Skills team offers, please follow them on Twitter or connect with us at LinkedIn.
* For more details of the Future Careers Digital Market Place programme, or if you would like your business to join the programme, please visit here.
Carpet business flying after grant
"The grant has been absolutely brilliant...the support is benefiting us already and will do far into us the future."
Forty businesses have been supported by grants totalling almost a quarter of a million pounds from a Warwickshire County Council scheme designed to help businesses in the retail and hospitality sector.
With the sector hard-hit by temporary closures enforced by the lockdowns, the council reacted quickly to devise and deliver a new funding stream - the Retail and Hospitality Recovery and Investment Grants.
The funding helps small businesses with capital investments which will help sustain the business, safeguard existing jobs and support future ones.
The Retail and Hospitality Recovery and Investment Grants scheme is part of an initial £6 million package of funding approved by council to support the immediate economic recovery in the county. The rapid release of funding made available grants of between £2,000 and £7,500 and the projects they are backing will feel long-lasting benefits for the businesses, their local communities and the local economy.
The first round of grants (a second round will open early next year) saw 40 businesses supported with funding totalling £215,000. Among them was House of Carpets, in Rugby, whose co-director Steve Legate says the support has given immediate impetus to the company.
"The grant has been absolutely brilliant," Steve said. "It enabled us to make improvements that we knew would really help, but couldn't afford the risk of financing completely ourselves.
"We spend a lot of time at customers' premises and, until now, had to do all our computer work in the office. Now, all our estimators have tablets so can get online wherever they are. That has transformed how we work...only yesterday we won a £1,100 order because we could access info on the spot.
"We have also installed new IT at our shop so, when lockdown is over, we can have more staff and customers there in accordance with social distance regulations.
"We couldn't have made these changes without the grant. Louisa, at the council, was brilliant in setting it up for us and the support is benefiting us already and will do far into the future."
Louisa Smith, Contract and Project Monitoring Officer in Economy & Skills, said: "I am delighted that the support has been so beneficial to House of Carpets.
"These grants have been awarded to a diverse range of businesses around the county. These include a number of pubs, cafes and restaurants who have taken advantage of the funding to improve their premises, for example by installing covered outside areas. These improvements will stand them in good stead both for immediately after lockdown and far into the future.
"Other retail businesses, like House of Carpets, have directed the funding towards projects to improve their IT infrastructure. This includes upgrading websites by adding the ability to take online payments, as well as ‘Click and Collect’ functionality, and similarly, these improvements will add value in the long as well as short term."
The first round of grants has now closed but businesses are encouraged to consider applying for the second round which will open early next year.
Warwickshire County Council leader Izzi Seccombe said: "The Retail and Hospitality Recovery and Investment Grants will have long-reaching benefits for the businesses and it is great to see such a good take up from the first round. We look forward to supporting many more businesses through this scheme."
Schools embrace council support to plot careers strategy
"The Skills for Employment grants have been an invaluable source of funding that has helped Myton tremendously over the years."
Many secondary schools across the county have taken advantage of a Warwickshire County Council programme which helps them update their careers strategy to deal with these fast-changing times.
The Future Careers Fund 2020, run by the county council's schools and career coordinator Emma Neale, offered each school a £2,000 grant to help redraw their strategy for helping students make the right career choices.
Over two thirds of secondary schools in the county have taken up the grant. They are now putting together or already implementing programmes tailored to their specific needs with specialist input from Emma and other advisors.
The funding was made available for schools to put forward projects and will be delivered in partnership with WCC project officers supporting implementation and bringing additional support where needed.
Among schools to benefit from the Future Careers Fund 2020 will be Myton School, in Warwick. The £2,000 grant will become the latest in a number of Skills for Employment schemes to have enhanced the school's careers service in recent years.
Garry Coffey, Careers Leader at Myton School, said: “Careers leaders like myself are always looking to improve, develop and initiate careers-related activities for our students in Warwickshire and these grants help make that happen.
"The Skills for Employment grants have been an invaluable source of funding that has helped Myton tremendously over the years. Using them to support our careers programme, we have been able to purchase career-related software programmes, training courses for staff, dedicated careers-use computers and a bespoke motor-vehicle course.
"In truth, without these grants, none of these initiatives would have been possible. Thank you once again.”
The Future Careers Fund 2020 is just one strand of the broad range of support offered to schools through the council's Skills for Employment programme. That support is evolving all the time and a series of recent meetings with schools' careers leaders is playing an active role in helping to shape support to be offered in the future.
Fay Winterburn, Lead Commissioner, Employability and Skills at Warwickshire County Council, said: "The careers leaders meetings have proved invaluable to understanding some of the new challenges and gaps in support schools and colleges now face as a result of COVID.
"We are very grateful to all the careers leaders who took part. It was great to see such an appetite to engage with us and we will certainly do everything we can to support schools as they look to give young people the best possible careers guidance going forward.
"We are delighted that the Future Careers Fund 2020 has had such a strong take up. More initiatives from our Skills for Employment team are on their way."
* For more information the funding opportunities and careers support to schools from Warwickshire County Council please visit here.
Frog and Mouse transformed thanks to swift Retail and Hospitality Grant
"The council support has been brilliant...sometimes you look at grants like this and think, 'that's a great idea but I bet it's ever so hard to get at', but this couldn't have been easier."
A home accessories business in Stratford-upon-Avon is strongly placed to bounce back after lockdown after refitting its shop thanks to support from Warwickshire County Council.
Frog and Mouse in Henley Street, has used a Retail and Hospitality Recovery and Investment Grant from the council to entirely refurbish and rebrand its retail premises and also add an eCommerce facility onto their website.
As with businesses throughout the retail sector, this has been a difficult year for Frog and Mouse with two enforced lockdowns denying them precious footfall. But they will reopen after the current lockdown ready to make up for lost time, in a shop transformed by the grant, says owner John Mackinnon.
"The council support has been brilliant," John said. "Firstly, it was so easy to access which was fantastic. Sometimes you look at grants like this and think, 'that's a great idea but I bet it's ever so hard to get at', but this couldn't have been easier.
"Louisa Smith at the council was so well-organised and methodical. The application was processed within days and that really enabled us to move quickly.
"It has enabled us to transform the shop with all new fixtures and fittings and it looks spectacular. When we opened, four years ago, I brought a lot of stuff from other shops to keep costs down and it looked nice, but, four years on, it needed a refresh.
"It has been an incredibly difficult year, there is no way we could have financed a refit ourselves, so the grant has made all the difference. The shop looks fantastic and we will reopen with a completely new look which will look great for years to come.
"I can't thank the council enough. Their support has really helped us through."
The Retail and Hospitality Recovery and Investment Grants scheme is part of an initial £6 million package of funding earmarked by Warwickshire County Council to support the immediate economic recovery in the county. The rapid release of funding made available grants of between £2,000 and £7,500 to provide long-lasting benefits for the businesses, their local communities and the local economy.
The first round of grants saw 40 businesses supported with funding totalling £215,000. Businesses are now encouraged to consider applying for the second round which will open early in 2021.
Businesses join campaign to list Warwickshire's festive offer from A to Z.
"We want to celebrate everything that is good about our independent retailers."
Independent retailers and small businesses will get a seasonal boost thanks to a new social media campaign launched by Warwickshire County Council.
The campaign – the A to Z of Christmas - celebrates businesses across the county and encourages residents to seek out services and products from their local retailers in the lead-up to Christmas.
It follows the successful #BuyEatLocal campaign earlier this year and will initially highlight businesses offering delivery or click n’ collect before lockdown ends in December.
The business community is also being encouraged to support each other on social media using #Warksmas and also tagging the town the retailer or business is located in for example #Nuneaton, #Leamington or #Alcester.
This will include contributing to the #Warksmas A to Z List, which will highlight businesses, products and services beginning with the corresponding letter – creating the perfect Christmas gift list from independent retailers across the region.
The A to Z started on November 20th and will run through all the letters of the alphabet over the following 26 days.
The Warwickshire Towns Network social media accounts will share updates from all businesses that get involved, profiling them on the county council’s social media channels.
The campaign is designed to raise the digital profile of small businesses and independent retailers across all towns in Warwickshire and drive footfall when government restrictions are lifted.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council and portfolio holder for economic development, said: “We want to celebrate everything that is good about our independent retailers and provide some valued support during these most difficult of times.
“The digital profile of a retailer is more important now than ever before, particularly during lockdowns where click and collect services have become the norm.
“This is a time for retailers across our region to come together and support the development of other independents in their communities, and we hope that this campaign can create a positive culture of sharing for a mutual gain.
“62 Warwickshire businesses have recently taken part in the ‘Warwickshire Towns Network Digital Skills for Retailers’ programme and have gained skills to support this campaign and other businesses.
“Not all small retail businesses are geared up for e-commerce but many are offering click and collect, and we hope the campaign will see more of them adopt social media an effective marketing tool.
“So please join the conversations on the #Warksmas hashtag, promote yourself, promote your neighbours and the County Council will help you to reach thousands of potential new customers.”
For more updates, please Follow @WarksTN on Twitter and Instagram or like Warwickshire Towns Network on Facebook and join the conversation.
To find out more about the campaign visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/buyeatlocal
Visit Warwickshire campaign launches new website
A county-wide marketing campaign ‘Visit Warwickshire’ has been launched.
The campaign’s website - visit.warwickshire.gov.uk - was launched this week and is the first element of the campaign to make it into the public domain. Hosted as a mini site within the County Council’s website, it offers content such as trails, itineraries and fun facts to help visitors enjoy Warwickshire.
The campaign will focus on several key themes to encourage people to visit Warwickshire when they can begin to travel more freely. The themes for the first phase of the campaign are food & drink, dog friendly, family adventure & discovery and literary links.
To date, content has been developed with those businesses who expressed an interest in being involved via a survey last month. But there will be plenty more opportunities for businesses to get involved as the campaign progresses and as new themes are developed. In the meantime, please visit the new website at visit.warwickshire.gov.uk and follow the hashtag #visitwarwickshire – you might even find out some things you didn’t know about the county and some new ways to enjoy all that it has to offer.
The marketing campaign is being delivered by destination consultancy Blue Sail and aims to help the recovery of the county’s tourism sector between now and August 2021 with a legacy to sustain business development and growth in the longer term.
Webinars offer guidance on how to make your business grow
A series of webinars to be delivered by Business Ready in the coming weeks will offer advice on 'winning and retaining customers', 'talent development' and 'pitching for finance'.
Business Ready is an innovative business readiness support package, primarily for tech-based SMEs looking to grow. Its aim is to provide support and guidance to help businesses reach their potential by overcoming barriers to growth.
The latest upcoming Business Ready webinar workshops are:
Winning and retaining customers: 1.30-3pm, Monday 30th November
Talent Development, Part 1: 9.30-11am, Wednesday 2nd December
Talent Development, Part 2: 9.30-11am, Wednesday 9th December
Pitching for Finance, Part 1: 9.30-11am, Friday 11th December
Pitching for Finance, Part 2: 9.30-11am, Wednesday 16th December
All workshops are free. For more details or to enquire about getting support for your business, please visit: www.business-ready.co.uk
* Business Ready is part of the CW Business: Start, Grow and Scale Programme and is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Warwickshire County Council & the University of Warwick Science Park.
Finding out more about HS2 supply chain
The £12bn worth of contract opportunities for businesses across the UK from HS2 were showcased at a four-day event this week.
The virtual event gave businesses across hundreds of sectors an insight into how they can become part of HS2’s rapidly growing supply chain, which already includes over 2,000 businesses.
The virtual ‘Meet the Contractor’ event gave businesses the opportunity to find out more about the estimated 400,000 supply chain opportunities that will emerge...and how they can get ‘HS2 ready’.
The four-day programme was delivered in partnership with HS2’s four main works construction partners (Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV)); Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial, BAM Nutall (EKFB)); Align and Skanska Costain STRABAG (SCS)) and two stations contractors (Balfour Beatty/VINCI/SYSTRA and Mace/Dragados). Between them they will unlock thousands of individual work packages which range in size and value between £5,000 and £200m.
The potential contracts represent a huge boost for British businesses seeking security and growth amidst the economic uncertainty arising from the pandemic. HS2 Ltd has so far awarded 98% of its current contracts to UK-based businesses; 70% of which have gone to SMEs, and it aims to continue that positive trend through direct engagement with suppliers and local business during the Meet the Contractor event.
Mark Thurston, HS2 Ltd’s CEO said: “The Government has said that construction must continue during the lockdown and, for HS2, that means continuing to bring more and more companies onto the project, creating thousands of jobs across Britain.
“This week's event will unlock billions of pounds worth of new contract opportunities on HS2, providing thousands of businesses and their employees with guaranteed incomes, and helping the country’s economic recovery in these uncertain times.”
Art challenges will get communities talking and smiling
Place Curators, Creative Giants are being commissioned by Warwickshire County Council (WCC) to carry out a series of Arts based projects across Warwickshire’s towns.
The commission will create opportunities for artists to create new public art interventions for towns throughout the County which will result in the creation of new artwork.
The idea behind the project is to help start putting the buzz back into our towns and open spaces, following the Covid Pandemic. The initiative will utilise funding received from the Government’s Getting Building Fund through Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, topped up by WCC, to form two complementary projects – one for Northern Warwickshire and one for Central and South Warwickshire.
Creative Giants, an arts company specialising in creating work for the public realm, are currently working with Coventry City Council in the run up to the City of Culture 2021 and plan to work with artists and local communities on the development of the proposed artworks.
Simon Vaughan, Managing Director for Creative Giants, said: “We are really looking forward to seeing what we can achieve for some of Warwickshire’s places. Public Art can be a real stimulus for bringing communities together – whether this be through healthy debate and interaction with our spaces or inviting people to look differently at places.
"The project rollout may be challenging in the current climate but we are committed to making this work for the people of Warwickshire.”
This scheme is part of an initial £6 million package of funding earmarked by Warwickshire Conty Council to support the immediate economic recovery in the county.
Cllr Heather Timms, portfolio holder for Environment, Heritage and Culture at Warwickshire County Council said “We are delighted to see Creative Giants in Warwickshire as we actively support our local towns and communities to find new and creative ways to stimulate economic growth, support local businesses and foster a sense of local pride in our Towns."
Cllr Peter Butlin, who represents the county council on CWLEP, said: "This is a really exciting project which reaches out to our communities and will help to start reinvigorate our towns."
Peer Networks will build trusted connections
Businesses in Warwickshire have an opportunity to make valuable new contacts in order to jointly solve business issues in these difficult times through a bespoke peer-to-peer networking programme for SMEs.
Peer Networks will create diverse cohort groups of individuals to collaboratively work through common business issues. It is designed for business leaders who want to grow and develop their organisation for future success.
Peer Networks goes much further than the concept of traditional networking. It offers busineses an opportunity to come together to jointly solve issues and receive some one-to-one coaching. Through interactive action learning, businesses will discuss challenges and implement practical solutions to overcome them. It is free but candidates are expected to commit about 18 hours of time to attending workshops and coaching.
From finance and HR to sales, marketing and more, Peer Networks' expert facilitators offer the flexibility to create a trusted support network that will help businesses strengthen and improve their overall performance.
The programme is applicable across all sectors, including third sector, renewable/green economy and transport and logistics, and is available to any SME business in Warwickshire that has:
- Operated for at least one year
- At least five employees
- A turnover of at least £100,000
- An aspiration to improve
The programme includes:
- Action oriented learning
- Trained facilitators
- Small groups
- Flexible topic selection
- One to one support
By completing Peer Networks, you will:
- Overcome business challenges and recognise and act on new opportunities
- Build a trusted network of connections to support you now and in the future
- Improve your long-term personal and business performance
The Peer Networks Programme is funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in response to a commitment made in the 2019 Business Productivity Review.
For more information please email to: peernetworks@cwgrowthhub.co.uk and a representative from your Coventry & Warwicshire Growth Hub will get in touch soon to let you know when cohorts will begin as the programme is rolled out.
New online employment hub is connecting recruiters with jobseekers
"...the definitive “go-to” place for those offering posts and people seeking jobs."
A major new online employment resource hub has been launched to help people in Coventry and Warwickshire find work.
Coventry and Warwickshire Employment Solutions is a free tool for businesses and job-seekers to counter rising levels of unemployment. It provides individuals and employers with an accessible ‘front door’ to the range of support services that have been initiated as a result of the pandemic.
CW Employment Solutions connects employers and job seekers to a range of services and brings together partners and industry experts to provide access to advice and support for businesses and individuals.
The new portal has been funded by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) in partnership with Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and the FSB.
Updated daily, it will collate current vacancies into one, user-friendly jobsearch tool, providing employers and recruiters with the opportunity to advertise job openings and find advice regarding job retention, upskilling and redundancy support.
It is hoped the website - www.cwemploymentsolutions.co.uk - will not only help those who are looking for work, but also help businesses to fill any job vacancies more quickly and efficiently.
Nick Abell, chair of the CWLEP, said Employment Solutions was the latest in range of measures to help the area’s businesses get through the pandemic.
He said: “The CWLEP, through its Growth Hub, has created Employment Solutions in a very quick time and we are linking with partners including Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and FSB to ensure that, as much as is possible, it is the definitive “go-to” place for those offering posts and people seeking jobs.
“Covid has had a huge impact on our economy, and the CWLEP has been working hard to formulate an effective reset strategy which will allow Coventry and Warwickshire to recover as well as is possible.
“The Employment Solutions website is one of the many key components in that strategy and to have the maximum impact we need local businesses who are recruiting to use this new site, providing further evidence of how well our region can pull together to help each other.”
CW Employment Solutions will sit alongside the CWLEP Growth Hub’s current ‘FinditinCW’ platform, which allows businesses to connect with local suppliers and supply chain opportunities across the region, and facilitate access to aligned support services, including the Coventry & Warwickshire Redundancy Support Service, Warwickshire Skills Hub and Coventry City Council’s Employer Hub.
The pandemic has already had a significant effect on the numbers of unemployed workers in the region. Between March and August this year, unemployment claims increased from 14,900 to 34,505, and the unemployment rate in Coventry and Warwickshire went from three per cent to seven per cent.
With more than 4,500 jobs currently being advertised in the region, it is hoped the new site will make it easier for businesses to reach these jobseekers, many of whom have been made redundant purely down to the pandemic.
CW Employment Solutions will be continually evaluated over its first 12 months to assess how many people are using it, and how many businesses are filling their vacancies as a result of it.
Do your staff need to be in the office?
Warwickshire County Council is encouraging local businesses to look at their risk assessments to ensure that all is being done to address the spread of the Coronavirus through the workplace.
With national guidance stating that people need to work from home if they can, the county council is asking businesses to challenge themselves as to whether the staff they currently have working in the office need to be in.
The challenge comes from Warwickshire County Council following several visits made by Trading Standards to businesses where staff who could work from home were still working on site.
Workplaces have been the source of an increasing rate of infections recently, prompting the Government to reintroduce the ‘work from home’ guidance.
Director of Public Health Warwickshire, Shade Agboola said: “With workplace infections of Covid-19 on the increase, now is the time to ensure that everyone who can work from home remains doing so. This will help to ensure that those who need to work on site have less people to interact with, which in turn means that less people will need to self-isolate, should a member of staff test positive for Covid-19. It will hopefully also mean that businesses can remain operational if fewer staff are required to isolate.
"Businesses have an essential role to play in keeping communities moving and we want to support them every step of the way, but even the smallest of changes, such as encouraging those who can work from home to do so, can make a big impact on keeping premises Covid secure and reducing the risk of transmission which is so critical to coming out of the recently imposed restrictions.
“Only by working together can we make a real change, so we are urging businesses to look at their risk assessment and challenge whether all those who are working on site really need to be there.”
More information on essential support and guidance for businesses can be found at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/coronavirusbusinesssupport