The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 33: Oct/Nov 2017 | Page 7
BUSINESS NEWS
Putting Swindon on the map
The Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership
(SWLEP) has published its fi rst annual report, outlining
its vision for Swindon to be world-renowned for
entrepreneurialism by 2026. Paddy Bradley, director of
SWLEP, told us more.
How does SWLEP decide
which areas need
investment?
consistent demand for written and verbal
communication skills. Digital skills are also
in high demand.
We carry out a thorough economic
assessment of the Swindon and Wiltshire
area, identifying trends in growth or decline
within business sectors, population, skills
and analysing the prospects for growth
in our area and how the productivity of
our businesses compares with other areas.
From that analysis of the evidence, we
identify our priorities.
The report claims improving
skills is a ‘priority’ - which
skills are most in demand?
In terms of qualifi cations, the greatest
demand over the next few years will be for
jobs requiring a Level 4 (Higher National
Diploma) and above. In particular, there is
a great demand for degree and higher level
qualifi cations. In terms of skills, there is a
How will SWLEP address
the skills gap?
The Higher Futures programme was
established by the SWLEP as a response
to the skills gap we had identifi ed. It
works with businesses to match the needs
of business to higher education training
providers in order to run degree-level
training courses for current employees.
The report mentions £22.03M
investment in wiltshire
college - what will the
money be spent on?
campus, the plan is to build a new
Construction, Life Sciences and Engineering
Centre as well as a new higher education
centre.
How will Swindon benefi t
from SWLEP?
Many local businesses including Dyson,
Excalibur and Serco Employment are
already actively involved with SWLEP.
We need the private sector to provide
the business drive and the public sector
to create the environment which supports
economic growth. Ultimately, residents
profi t from employment opportunities
and businesses have a good environment
in which to grow and create wealth for
the area.
The plans for the Lackham campus aim
to boost the rural economy with a new
Agricultural Technology Centre and a
higher education centre. At the Salisbury
@SWLEP
For more info:
www.swlep.co.uk
THE CLOCK IS TICKING FOR FREE
SME GROWTH SUPPORT
Oxford Innovation is reminding Swindon & Wiltshire SMEs that
time is of the essence for anyone looking to take advantage of the
Governments 12-hours of free business growth funding.
The SME Growth Project is
aligned with the Government’s
agenda to encourage small
businesses to thrive and prosper.
Oxford Innovation is one of the
key delivery partners for the
project. They are working across
the country and is one of the
UK’s leading business support
companies. To date they have
helped over 5,000 businesses grow
and develop, opening doors to
over £100m of external funding to
support their plans.
Leading the project in Swindon
and Wiltshire is Theda Gray. Theda
is a business coach and strategist
based in Bradford on Avon. Theda
started her career in two family run
businesses and truly understands
the challenges owner-run and
managed businesses face. She
is also a qualifi ed chartered
management accountant and
looks at a business holisti cally, from
strategy to software, systems and
fi nancial foundations.
When delivering the free
support, Theda travels to a client’s
place of work or often to one
of Swindon & Wiltshire’s TEN
Centres in Trowbridge, Royal
Wootton Bassett, Ludgershall or
Salisbury. The 12 hours are split
into manageable sessions of two to
four hour meetings.
Theda begins her client sessions
by looking at where a company is,
where they want to go and what
they would like to get out of the
sessions. She then plans her time
with you around what your biggest
needs are, whether it’s helping you
understand your fi gures better,
assisting you with how to access
funding for growth or creating a
long-term plan aligned with goals
to drive you towards success.
The idea is to provide you with
practical advice that quickly makes
a difference to you as an individual
and to the company as a whole.
Unique to Oxford Innovation
is their highly acclaimed
GrowthMapper business diagnostic
tool. The 100 question online
questionnaire maps business
and employer cohesion across
key areas of the business. This
includes sales and marketing,
strategy, leadership, operations
and innovation. A local business
owner said: “The GrowthMapper
is a fantastic tool for ensuring
you’re on the same page as
your employees. It helped me
understand where my leadership
needed improving and ensured
we had a clear aligned strategy
moving forwards.”
Crowdfunding expert Anthony
de Souza added: “Theda and the
Oxford Innovation team were most
professional and competent in
supporting me and my business.
The GrowthMapper vision session
and establishing KPIs proved
extremely useful. Help with
structure and cashfl ow forecast
was invaluable.”
Once your 12 hour sessions
have come to an end, Oxford
Innovation can work with you to
apply for match funding to achieve
your future growth aspirations.
Grant funding is available from
£2,000 - £10,000.
To fi nd out more about the 12
free hours of funding email Theda
Gray: [email protected] or call
01865 261460
For more info:
www.oxfordinnovationservices.co.uk
@OI_HighGrowth
Theda Gray,
business coach
and strategist
Theda started her career in
two family run businesses
and truly understands
the challenges owner-run
and managed businesses
face. She is also a qualifi ed
chartered management
accountant and looks
at a business holistically,
from strategy to software,
systems and fi nancial
foundations.
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017
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