Skills & Training
Beyond 2010 - 50% Funding Support
Beyond 2010 is a new initiative to assist small to medium-sized businesses in the East of England to give staff new skills to move the business forward.
The project works alongside Train to Gain to ensure that businesses can get the skills training that they need. Businesses employing up to 250 staff can contact specialist sector advisors who are able to discuss training needs in detail and agree with the business which training course will best meet their needs. Up to half of the cost of training is available from EEDA and the European Social Fund.
Beyond 2010 focuses on ten key sectors of the East of England's economy: automotive and high-tech manufacture; creative sector; financial services; food and drink processing; life sciences and healthcare; low carbon and sustainable technologies; social enterprise; sustainable communities and the built environment; tourism and Olympics 2012; and transport gateways.
For more information or to connect to an advisor who represents your sector please contact tom.bendy@exdra.co.uk.
Free Business BriefingsBrochure of Business Link Briefing events (May 09 to Sept 09) to help survive difficult times & prepare for a brighter future.
Click here to view brochure.
Chamber Member Directory - Training Providers
Checkout the Chamber Member Directory to access top quality training providers click here.
Coaching and mentoring
Coaching and mentoring can be useful learning and development tools for both you and your staff. Coaches and mentors can offer help and practical advice that will increase your knowledge and understanding and, ultimately, can lead to improvements in performance in your business.
http://www.bizmapeast.co.uk/people/coaching-and-mentoring/
Free skills training and courses
Get ahead in business with free skills training and courses from enterpriseGY. From time management and marketing to communications and customer service – expertly and locally delivered. Visit www.enterpriseGY.co.uk or call 0800 458 0146.
Landskills East
A new partnership, called Landskills East, has been set up to provide rural businesses with improved access to skills and training opportunities in the region to provide the skills that will be required by the region’s land-based sector. For information on LandSkills East visit www.LandSkillsEast.co.uk
or contact Michael Mack, Norfolk Rural Business Advisory Service (NRBAS) at Easton College on 01603 731285 or mmack@easton.co.uk
Making the Skills Pledge
Many companies now are making the Skills Pledge. This public demonstration of the importance you place on investing in skills of your people helps increase your employees’ confidence, motivation and productivity. Employers who make the Skills Pledge are also supported with impartial advice from Train to Gain service. Visit the Skills Pledge website http://inourhands.lsc.gov.uk/employersSkillsPledge.html
Nextstep Norfolk
Works with other organisations to provide a free, impartial, easily accessible service to adults on issues associated with learning or work, including training, how to improve your confidence and self esteem and help with CVs, application forms and letters. Website: http://www.nextstepeastofengland.org.uk/
Norwich4Business
The Norwich4Business Programme is available to assist people who have been made redundant, or are under the threat or notice of redundancy, who are considering setting up a new business in the Norwich area.
Website: http://www.norfolkfoundation.com/norwich4business/index.htm
Train to Gain - Funding Support
Train to Gain offers you, as an employer, the chance to improve the basic skills of your workforce, such as numeracy and literacy.
The Train to Gain programme offers you the chance to help staff achieve a level 2 vocational qualification (equivalent to 5 GCSEs) and the possibility of studying for a level 3 vocational qualification (equivalent to A level). Visit www.traintogain.gov.uk for more information.
Training seminars
There are a variety of business-focused events and training sessions on offer throughout the region. These include seminars for those who are considering setting up and starting their own businesses and workshops on business expansion and future planning. Many of these events are run by Business Link East - the place to go for business support. Visit www.bookevents.org for a listing of events or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/east for more information on Business Link East
Training Support for Apprentices
Apprentices can bring many benefits to your business- increased productivity, improved competitiveness and committed and competent workforce. You can get full or partial financial support for training up to the equivalent of A level. Visit the Apprenticeships Service website www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers.aspx or ring 0800 015 0600.
Information, Advice & Guidance
Business Link East
A government-funded service offering free, independent and impartial business advice. They also offer free business health checks and can advise on reducing running costs and managing cash flow.
Contact: 08457 171615 Website: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/east
Chamber HR
As part of their Membership, Norfolk Chamber members have FREE access to a complete human resource package that offers a wide range of services including unlimited access to national 24/7 HR, health & safety and legal advice lines, staffed by professional experts.
Chamber Training
Development and training for staff is becoming increasingly important for businesses as they are faced with growing competition for a skilled workforce. Developing people to deliver their full potential has significant benefits to a business and research shows that training can also help motivate and retain valued staff, cutting recruitment costs and reducing sickness absence.
Norfolk Chamber of Commerce offers a range of courses to help develop skills in the workplace, maximise performance and ensure that your company is compliant with ever-increasing legislation. All our courses are delivered by accredited trainers from Matrix Training, The Redcat Partnership, Wilson Lee & Partners, Customs Training and Export Trainers. Chamber Members can enjoy exclusive discounts on course rates.
Construction Skills
ConstructionSkills is the Sector Skills Council for construction. They represent every part of the construction industry and cover every part of the skills agenda - from grants to college places.
Visit www.cskills.org or www.constructionskills.net for more information.
HM Government – Real Help Now
Where to find help with Homes, Jobs and Finance - Click Here to view download
HERO’s “University finder”
HERO’s “University finder” www.hero.ac.uk/uk/universities_colleges/index.cfm makes it easy to find your local universities and colleges and gives contacts for their dedicated business teams.
i10
i10 provides businesses with easy access to the expertise and facilities within universities and higher education institutions in the East of England. Many of the services offered by i10 are tailored towards your staff, skills and recruitment . Visit the i10 website or call 0845 234 2314 for more information.
NEW - Job Centre Plus - Temporary Stoppage Payments Scheme
Fact Sheet for Employees - Click here
Fact Sheet for Employers - Click here
Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus is a free service specifically designed to make your recruitment service run smoothly.
With the network, technology and contacts to advertise your vacancy as quickly and widely as possible, Jobcentre Plus has a proven track-record of providing the right people to fill vacancies when you need them.
Jobcentre Plus can offer: advice on recruitment methods and procedures ;information about the local labour market;availability of candidates and wage rates; advice on any difficulties or barriers to filling your vacancies. Visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk for more information.
GradsEast
GradsEast, run by i10, brings together all of the universities across the East of England to share recruitment opportunities and offers small businesses the chance to have first refusal on the region's graduating talent.
GradEast has increased the retention of graduates significantly through various programmes, including the innovative First Move initiative. First Move is a directory sent to every graduating student containing over 1,000 graduate opportunities from the region's small and medium-sized businesses. It is free to advertise for vacancies and easy to get involved. Visit www.i10.org.uk/recruitment for more information.
NEW -Managing the downturn and preparing for recovery.
This short guide sets out how employers can use flexible working and manage redundancies fairly in the current climate. It will help you understand your rights and entitlements as an employer as well as those of your employees – so that everybody, including you, is treated fairly and with dignity. Click here to view.
Move and Discover
Discover is a gateway to quality career and course information . Discover is a pilot and is by no means complete or wholly accurate yet. We will continue to build upon and improve this information throughout the development period 2008/09; feedback is always welcome!
Email: info@move.ac.uk.
Website MOVE http://www.move.ac.uk/
Website DISCOVER http://www.move.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112&Itemid=121
Migrant Gateway
If you are a company employing, or thinking about employing, migrant workers the Migrant Gateway is a valuable source of information.
The Gateway provides information, advice and guidance to organisations and groups working with migrant workers. It offers an employers' and practitioners' advice line and provides specialist training sessions, tailor-made to demystify subjects such as the status of and rules and regulations surrounding the employment of migrant workers from different parts of the world. Visit www.migrantgateway.eu for more information.
Norfolk Knowledge
Norfolk Knowledge is a new organisation, which is supported by Norfolk County Council and led by Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia. The aim of Norfolk Knowledge is to act as a fountain of knowledge and experience from which anyone who needs knowledge can draw and anyone who has knowledge can contribute. Visit www.norfolkknowledge.com for more info.
Recruiting Employees
From April 2009, you could get an incentives of up to £1000 to recruit a person who has been unemployed for over six months, and access to in-work training for that person worth up to £1,500.
More details of how to access this help will be made available shortly on the Business Link Website www.businesslink.gov.uk/realhelp .