BUSINESS NEWS
BUILDING BRIDGES INVESTS £ 3.9M INTO SUPPORTING LOCAL UNEMPLOYED
The Building Bridges partnership is jointly funded by the Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund and aims to help people facing ‘ challenges and barriers ’ to move into work by injecting £ 3.9m into supporting individuals in Swindon and Wiltshire .
As part of this , it is seeking to support employers in Swindon and Wiltshire by matching them with individuals who can add value to their workforce and provide support to both employer and employee .
According to the 2015 UKCES Employer Skills Survey : 1,651 establishments in Wiltshire and Swindon reported having at least one hard to fill vacancy ( 8 % of establishments ). Yet the area has an estimated 14,200 unemployed individuals .
Dave Potts Building Bridges Programme Manager said :” Swindon and Wiltshire has a wealth of people with valuable skills , abilities and potential who are being overlooked because employers are focusing on the barriers
Launched in 2015 , the network offers a unique opportunity to support employers to engage with schools , colleges and young people through a National programme and claims to build ‘ powerful , lasting connections ’ between local businesses , schools and colleges .
The Volunteer Enterprise Advisers are sourced from local businesses to work directly with the leadership of individual schools and colleges and have been sourced from employers including Nationwide , Atkins Global , Capita , Siemens Rail , and Marriott Hotels .
The Swindon and Wiltshire Enterprise Adviser Network is delivered by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council working in partnership with the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership ( SWLEP ) and feeds into the nationwide they face rather than the skills and attributes they could bring to the workplace .”
He added :“ We can help people get started by offering work experience for as little as one hour per week , with the potential to offer further progression opportunities through employment or voluntary work . With free support we can help to source an appropriate candidate for your workplace , potentially adding value to your organisation and opening a whole new world of opportunity for the participant .”
For more information on the project , contact Claire Pearce , claire . pearce @ wiltshire . gov . uk Tel : 01225 718425 / 01225 716890 www . buildingbridgessw . org . uk / employers
Volunteer Adviser network boosts youth engagement with local business
The Swindon & Wiltshire Enterprise Adviser Network , a growing network of volunteers from local businesses , is working with schools and colleges across the area to ‘ improve the effectiveness ’ of business and education engagement and to further develop careers and enterprise activities .
Careers & Enterprise Company Enterprise Adviser Network . Phil Townsend , R & D engineer and company secretary for IXYS UK Westcode Ltd , said : “ It is essential that young people get the careers information , advice and guidance that they need to make informed choices and to reach their full potential . I am delighted to be partnering with Hardenhuish School in Chippenham as their Enterprise Adviser so that local employers can help them give this to their students .”
He added , “ I have found the support from the Enterprise Adviser Network invaluable and being an Enterprise Adviser a thoroughly worthwhile experience that I would highly recommend .”
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer Enterprise Adviser contact : workwiltshire @ wiltshire . gov . uk
With a New Year , now is a great time to get out there and make the most of the services available in Wiltshire to help grow your business . Inspire have a perfect package to enable you to do just that , which we have re-vamped for 2017 .
This year we ’ re excited to launch our Inspire Business Clinics . Following a couple of very successful trials , these are part of our new look popular drop-in series , taking place at venues across the County ( see page 24 for a list of our events ). The concept is simple , bring a business problem , challenge or opportunity that you ’ re prepared to share with others and we will help you solve the issue . Inspire ’ s CEO , Rob Perks will chair the round table session and other business owners will help you with their experiences on how to tackle the challenge you face . We will also invite our partner experts to give their professional advice .
We have a full schedule of networking opportunities including business breakfasts with high profile guest speakers , business lunches and seminars planned for 2017 . To see a full list visit : www . inspirebiz . co . uk / events
Those wanting to attend our events have the flexibility of being able to sign up to the events as they go , or sign up to our membership programme and receive a whole host of benefits . Please get in touch to find out more .
If you follow Inspire on any of our social media platforms , you will know that we proudly share the news of our clients and love to celebrate success . As a member of the Inspire network you can really make the most of this platform by sharing your good news stories with us .
There are many marketing benefits of being an Inspire member , including the promotion of our exclusive ‘ Member to Member Offers ’. We promote these via our e-newsletters and online helping you to grow your business and build great relationships with our network .
To find out more about growing your business with
Inspire please give me a call or drop me a line . 01225 355553 | 07730 870195 | jess @ inspirebiz . co . uk
Jess Pitman , Marketing Manager
Written by Jess Pitman
4 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017