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A decade at the fun fair ?
Looking back over the last 10 years , it feels like Swindon and Wiltshire and all the UK have been jammed onto the bench seats of a rickety wooden roller coaster , experiencing some sharp banked turns with the occasional barrel roll thrown in for good measure . A bit of fear is accompanied by a lot of excitement as we enjoy the ride but are scared rigid by the thought of flying off the rails .
Paddy Bradley , outgoing Chief Executive Officer at the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership
Steep rises are followed by rapid descents . We know they are coming , and we have a sense of what they will feel like , but there is always a shock of joy and anxiety . And what is it like when we get off the roller coaster ? Some people want to get back on straight away , most have enjoyed it , but want to take a breather and a few regretted getting on it in the first place .
I can say with some confidence , the SWLEP is in the first category ; we do not want to leave the ride . The decade of economic progress , shocks and declines , and a few flat points , keeps us on the ball and needing to be agile in our thinking .
Over the decade , SWLEP has overseen close to half a billion pounds of infrastructure improvements throughout Swindon and Wiltshire . These include :
improvements to the A350 and A429 ; revised junctions 15 , 16 and 17 on the M4 ; roads and junctions into and out of the Eastern Villages in Swindon ; ultrafast broadband connectivity in Wiltshire ; new employment space in Swindon , Porton , Chippenham and Corsham ; pedestrian , cycle and bus routes in Swindon ;
new educational facilities at the Swindon and Wiltshire Institute of Technology and two campuses of Wiltshire College and University Centre ;
refurbished and new facilities at Chippenham Station ; and ,
funding to support the work of the Environment Agency in creating the Salisbury River Park . stay afloat during difficult financial circumstances . Our loan scheme is designed to support growing businesses and currently we have 27 loans allocated . Since 2016 , we have loaned £ 19 million , which has leveraged £ 48 million from other sources with an estimated 1,117 jobs created .
Since 2013 , we have benefitted from working with a great range of partners from both local authorities as well as colleges and private training providers , universities , the South-West Army Command at Tidworth and businesses throughout the area in planning and delivering enhanced skills provision . We have always regarded skills development as a fundamental feature of a healthy , growing economy . Two particular features stand out ; the Higher Futures programme and our Careers Hub . Higher Futures was unique in the country when we set it up a decade ago . It matched business demand for degree-level skills with universities around the country who bid to provide the training . It was a successful example of effective , demand-led skills provision . The Careers Hub is one the best performing hubs in the country and there is one in each LEP area . The programme the Hub oversees aims to ensure every pupil in every secondary school and further education college experiences a structured careers education curriculum . These are designed to help students gain an understanding of the world of work and higher educational opportunities through regular and systematic exposure to real-life experiences .
During the majority of the decade , we have benefitted from , and been very grateful recipients of funding from central Government . Without this we could not have achieved and delivered the work which has made such a difference in Swindon and Wiltshire . Throughout this time , The Business Exchange has become a prominent voice for business and the community . As CEO of SWLEP Ltd , I have been so pleased to work with The Business Exchange and now I will be retiring from my role and handing over to Debby Skellern as Acting CEO . It is great to be part of the community created by The Business Exchange and the SWLEP ’ s involvement will continue under the leadership of Debby Skellern . Best wishes to all readers .
When Salisbury was struck by the Novichok attack , the SWLEP set up the first grant scheme for businesses to access support as they had to work desperately hard to
We have benefitted from , and been very grateful recipients of funding from central Government . Without this we could not have achieved and delivered the work which has made such a difference in Swindon and Wiltshire .
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