The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 45: Oct/Nov 2019 | Page 9

SWLEP
Download the Annual Report in full at:
www.swlep.co.uk
Snapshot of our
economy in 2018
Swindon and Wiltshire’s economy is worth over £18bn a
year growing by over 2% between 2016 and 2017. This has
put us amongst the top ten in England. In addition, 82%
of our working age population is economically active. In
the 2018 Good Growth for Cities Report, Swindon ranked
7th in the Top 10 Highest Ranking Cities in the UK and is
the 9th most improved place in the country with Wiltshire
scoring above the national average for wellbeing and life
satisfaction.
Investing in Skills & Talent
Enabling businesses to have appropriately skilled
and competitive workforces to support growth,
innovation and creativity remains a significant
investment priority for the Swindon & Wiltshire
Local Enterprise Partnership. Employers continue
to tell us that developing a workforce with a higher
level of skill will help them stay competitive and
achieve the growth they need.
Our support includes:
Delivery of £21m Institute of Technology
Higher Futures - There is no university which
calls Swindon and Wiltshire its home, but there
is a higher education offer. Apprenticeships
through to MBA/Level 7 are heavily subsidised by
the government and employers paying the
apprenticeship levy. The ‘Learning Hub’ provides
a one-stop-shop for local and regional HE
courses. It’s designed to enable people to
browse courses and enrol with their chosen
provider. It’s currently reaching its final build
stages and is anticipated to launch during the
autumn of 2019.
Continuing our Careers Hub – Supporting 40
schools and colleges across the area, developing
good practice and widening provision in careers
information, advice and guidance.
Skills Advisory Panel – Our established Skills &
Talent Subgroup is adapting to reflect new
requirements. Its purpose is to bring together
key stakeholders to understand local skills and
labour market needs.
The future - Investing in a new higher education
offering with a multi-campus university
Higher Futures
Skills support
Training 143
Resourcing 94
(Number of businesses
supported)
Skills support 61
Outputs
(Number of businesses
supported)
According to PWC’s Good Growth Index, Swindon and
Wiltshire has made the greatest improvement of all Local
Enterprise Partnerships between 2014 and 2017. This
recognises the thriving economy that we have in Swindon
and Wiltshire and the good quality businesses that are
based here. As a partnership we are developing our Local
Industrial Strategy with Government to ensure that we
continue to support sustainable and inclusive economic
growth and increased productivity. To guide us in this
delivery we have developed an extensive evidence base
and have a number of strategies in place including Higher
Education, Digital Capabilities, Cyber Resilience, Energy,
Rural Productivity and Rail. These will underpin our Local
Industrial Strategy which will showcase the established
and productive sectors and innovative businesses that
help distinguish our area. They are part of making the UK
a global leader in the industries of the future as well as
identifying where we need to focus our attention over the
next 10-15 years.
Skills support
to business
Apprenticeships 163
322
Learning on
programme
837 Total
543 at higher level
Swindon & Wiltshire
Growth Hub
Business support is the foundation to achieving
economic growth. Our Growth Hub continues to
invest in offering information, advice, guidance and
signposting businesses to the most appropriate
and effective support available. This includes
specialist Business Advisers within the SWLEP.
Visit the Growth Hub online at:
www.growthhub.swlep.co.uk
Total investment and Digital engagement
2018/19
Our 2018/2019 highlights include:
Total investment this year: £205k
Face-to-face intensive assist support
(12 hours or more)
Further enrichment of the online portal
– packed with information, advice and guidance
Creation of an online business marketplace for
businesses to promote themselves with
exclusive offers for members of the Growth
Hub community
Business Energy &
Industrial Strategy
funding
£205k
Total unique
visitors Social media
followers Downloads
15,978 2,500 9,671
S&W
community
members Knowledge
centre
resources News hub
newsletter
distribution
831
813
6,643
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019
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