Business recovery support stepped up in wake of Covid-19 crisis
The first wave of business support schemes to aid small and medium-sized firms in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis has been launched.
The Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBSLEP), which covers Cannock, Lichfield, Kidderminster and Hagley, has been working with expert partners, including its local authority partners and several business improvement districts to establish pilot projects which will support firms in key growth sectors, as well as independents and towns and local centres.
The LEP is now asking businesses within its area to come forward to find out if they are eligible for support.
The schemes have been designed to offer direct support with challenges around adapting business models, moving services online and increasing technology adoption to improve future competitiveness, with the aim of helping businesses bounce back quickly as the economy begins to emerge from public health measures.
Among the newly-launched schemes is a click and drop service which gives free access to a digital platform enabling local businesses to offer online shopping services and provide coordinated deliveries to customers.
This is intended to respond to community needs for essential goods and supplies while encouraging organisations to adopt new working models to aid future growth.
A programme to accelerate the digital capacities of businesses will also be available via an online course which combines one-to-one digital coaching and training. It will be delivered in partnership with the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
A separate online training programme will focus on resiliency and preparing retailers for reopening, which will be delivered via webinars and one-to-one sessions with sector experts.
An apprenticeship triage and employment triage programme has also been launched. GBSLEP will work with employers and individuals to introduce solutions to retain apprentices on training programmes, even while staff are furloughed. In addition to matching individuals who may have been made redundant through the crisis with employers experiencing an increased demand for workers.
A grant scheme is also set to be created and will be finalised in the coming weeks, along with further sector specific support.
Immense
The schemes can be accessed via the GBSLEP Growth Hub, a single point of contact for business advice, funding and support for any business across the GBSLEP economic geography. It brings together partners offering business support through a web portal and expert advisers.
Chairman of GBSLEP, Tim Pile, said: “Businesses within Greater Birmingham and Solihull have faced immense challenges in the last few months. We have already seen many inspiring stories of businesses successfully shifting their business online or digitising processes in response to the crisis. It is vital that we offer as much support as we possibly can, not only to improve their resilience in the immediate term but to pave the way for future growth.
“By working closely with our partners, we have created and begun to implement schemes which will benefit organisations operating in a wide range of sectors, encouraging them to adopt new working models to continue operating and growing.
“GBSLEP has been providing businesses with guidance via our Growth Hub since Covid-19 began to impact our lives and the economy. These new schemes will give additional specialised support in targeted areas to aid recovery, and we’d urge all businesses to step forward and visit our website to register their interest.”
The GBSLEP area covers businesses operating in Birmingham, Solihull, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Tamworth, Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wyre Forest.
For more information about the business support schemes visit www.yourstepforward.co.uk
