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joining SWLEP . He was previously Head of Economy , Skills and Property Development at Swindon Council , also worked in local authority roles in Portsmouth and West Sussex . Before that he was a headteacher in education and started his career as a business analyst .
Today he heads up an organisation which looks at the big picture around local business and enterprise , working alongside government through partners including local authorities and engaging with local businesses .
Exceptional circumstances …
One very clear – and exceptional example of support – has been the SWLEP ’ s support following the major incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury .
The extraordinary ‘ poison ’ situation which has affected the south of our county has led SWLEP to come together with other interested partners to help local businesses . Those parties include Wiltshire Council , Salisbury ’ s BID team , Chamber of Commerce , the FSB and the representatives of Salisbury Cathedral . A fund of £ 100,000 has been made available with affected businesses able to apply for up to £ 5,000 each .
Paddy said : “ We cannot cover costs of support such as rent and rates – that ’ s the job of Wiltshire Council but we can do other things to provide on the ground support – and support will also be offered in Amesbury .
“ We have local business advisors out and about and eligible businesses can apply for grants to perhaps refurbish their premises , move to new premises , undertake more marketing , replace tools or equipment . In Salisbury these grants have been made
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the A350 in Chippenham as well as other smaller projects across the county .
“ Transport links are very important for us . We have excellent links to London and also to Bristol . However going north or south – not so easy .”
Support for SMEs :
A loan fund exists for scale up and bigger SMEs and two rounds of funding have been released so far with more to come . These are particularly aimed at businesses which are growing and which are recruiting more people .
One criticism the small business community has levelled at government and organisations like SWLEP has been the focus on ‘ scale up ’ businesses , free advice and support for start-ups - yet an apparent neglect of those businesses sitting in between which some can categorise as ‘ life-style ’ businesses .
Those who run these businesses often feel under-valued for the ‘ small ’ contribution they make to the local economy .
Paddy says : “ We have to follow government thinking and there ’ s a finite pot of money to go around . Evidence does show that by supporting ambitious medium-sized businesses this is where most growth will occur creating more jobs and creating a cascade effect in an area . These have the most potential for growth . Corporations do what they do and often grow very slowly .
“ However we do appreciate and value all businesses and would encourage them all to register for free on our Growth Hub and get involved with our events and meet other local like-minded businesses already engaging with us .
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“ We particularly have plans to look at the creative sector and we will be sharing more on that in due course .”
The online Growth Hub can be accessed here www . swgrowhhub . co . uk
Challenges in Swindon & Wiltshire :
Paddy believes the business challenges faced are similar to many places outside of London and perhaps Oxford or Cambridge . Recruitment and talent are big issues . “ It ’ s all right to have these challenges as it means the economy is growing . Recruitment of the right people with the right skills can be difficult . One major challenge is to train people to HND level or above as we believe this is where the job needs will be . We need to ensure that local people are skilled and educated and we also need to attract people in their 30s from outside who want to live and work in the area .”
One of the reasons for this is that demographic predictions show our area is going to see a reduction in the workforce between the ages of 16 and 64 over the next 15 to 20 years – which will mean a reduction in tax-payers . At the same time the number of over 65s will increase .
“ There are many things we need to look at around these trends . We want to develop a multi-campus university focusing around high tech , we want to work towards a good digital infrastructure moving towards full fibre broadband – not just fibre to the cabinet . We also want reliable energy sources . We want to increase the exposure of the over-65s to technology to keep them as active and independent as possible and to
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upskill them so that they can contribute to the economy beyond the age of 65 .”
What could the future look like ?
“ There ’ s much to think about and we ’ re considering many things some of which will form part of our local industrial strategy . “ Some highlights include a need for businesses to have more social awareness . I do think profit and making money will always be important but the next generation will push , we believe , for more social consideration .
“ Connectivity – reliable broadband and wifi – has already become a business and domestic need and this will increasingly be a ‘ draw ’ and will make both business premises , sites and homes more attractive .
“ We are behind some countries in this . For example in South Korea , provision of fast connectivity has been a CSR task for Korea Telecom . Here we ’ ve taken a different approach and we ’ ve gone down the ‘ commercially viable ’ route .”
“ An interest in big , chrome filled , office spaces which are uniform and quite predictable in their look seems to be dwindling . The younger generation seem to prefer the ‘ recycling of heritage buildings ’ working from spaces which are quirky with historical interest . We are already seeing examples of this in places like Swindon , Salisbury and Corsham .”
Useful resources : www . swlep . co . uk www . SWGrowthHub . co . uk hello @ SWGrowthHub . co . uk
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THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018 27 |