Latest Business Support, Events & Opportunities from Hull City Council - issue 12 - 3 August 2023
Employment Hub - Support for Businesses - Upskilling Support Funding
Upskilling Support is a Hull City Council initiative which aims to help local businesses use workforce skills interventions to raise their productivity and profitability
The training needs to enhance the individual and the business and must not have already started or have previously taken place or be a legal requirement (eg Health and Safety, etc) or be partly funded by another grant.
This is for business’s based in Hull (HU1-HU9 postcode area and the training is for anyone who is directly employed by the business. The funding available is 50% of the cost of training up to £3,000 (excluding vat) and for over £3,000 there is a £1500 payment (not 50%)
For more information please contact: employmentinclusionteam@hullcc.gov.uk
Test Market Grants for Young Entrepreneurs
The Youth Enterprise and Micro Biz Team at Hull City Council has established a funding pot with the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank that enables the issuing of a Test Market Grant of normally between £350 and £500, although more may be granted in exceptional circumstances, for aspiring young entrepreneurs in Hull until March 2025 or until the funding pot is depleted.
The funding is available to young people aged 29 within their first year of trading, or if they have new business idea from their original one within their business. The deadline for the next round is 12th September so they can go to a panel meeting on 26th September.
Successful candidates will be encouraged to mentor future young entrepreneurs in the city, and to work with us in promoting enterprise in schools and colleges.
For more information click here
New Skills Bootcamps to open for higher-paying sustainable jobs
Training that will lead to guaranteed interviews for higher paid jobs is on the way thanks to Hull Training and Adult Education (HTAE) securing over £2m from the government.
Of this funding allocation, £222,425 has been committed to the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in HGV and Highways Maintenance and Groundworks. HTAE is working with other providers on further opportunities to use the remaining funds.
The bootcamps will be delivered by one or more service providers the project seeks to link in with potential employers. So far, 21 projects have been awarded funding, ranging from telecommunications to joinery and construction.
The next round of projects will start on the 1 August 2023 and run until 31 March 2024.
Employers will also benefit by filling specific skills shortage vacancies, helping their productivity.
You can find out more about Skills Bootcamps here
Business Support, Events & Opportunities
Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference 2023 (OEEC)
Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is again taking a trade mission to Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference 2023 (OEEC).
OEEC is Europe’s leading event for the entire offshore energy industry and an opportunity to reach business leaders, highly qualified experts and professionals across global markets. Around 400 exhibitors will gather in Amsterdam from the 28 to 29 November 2023, showcasing their experience and expertise in the offshore wind, marine energy, hydrogen sector, green marine and more.
DBT will be launching recruitment before end August and if you are interested in joining please email the DBT team on trademissions@trade.gov.uk
To find out more about OEEC click here
Masters Level Commercial Development Projects 2023-24
The School of Computer Science at the University of Hull is looking for software projects for their Masters level students and would like to invite you to submit your proposals for free software development.
As part of the fourth year of study, our candidates are required to participate in an in-house placement (at the University) where they work part-time to develop real software for real clients in small teams. These are self-managing agile teams but are supervised by a commercial manager and supported by a team of academic staff.
If you are interested or want further information please contact john.dixon@hull.ac.uk , all we need is a short project proposal or outline brief (no more than a paragraph to a page is necessary) and your contact details, before September 8th.
Vacancy Advertising and Meet the Employer Events
Are you looking to recruit for your business and/or struggling to fill vacancies ? We can help at the Employment Hub by advertising your roles and promoting these to our clients.
Why don’t you book a Meet the Employer event at the Employment Hub.
We can offer you the Employment Hub at no cost to yourself which is based in the Central Library in Hull City Centre. We will organise this for you and source candidates for you according to your job specification. You will be available on the day to speak to candidates about the roles available.
Our services are completely free to all businesses contact us now to find out more information:- employmenthub@hullcc.gov.uk Telephone (01482) 616623
Find a Grant service launched
A new UK-wide online resource has been launched for organisations applying for government grants. Find a Grant includes over 200 schemes and is predicted to reduce the time spent on grant application by 72%.
Read more here
Access your dedicated 1-2-1 support
The council employs a number of business/specialist advisors that can help you with all your business support needs as well as accessing grant funding for other specialist advice. To find out more and arrange an appointment, please contact business.support@hullcc.gov.uk or visit Invest Hull Business Support
Other News & Information
Mental Health Champions In The Workplace
The Wellbeing Recovery Employment Service (delivered by Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust) is offering free Mental Health Awareness Workshops, giving small business managers, owners and teams the tools and skills to understand, support and manage mental health issues.
The free 2 hour workshop is delivered within your workplace and at a time to suit you. Those attending will receive a ‘Mental Health Champion’ certificate and pin badge and will have the chance to speak to a member of the team about any mental health concerns they may have.
For more information email: hnf-tr.wres@nhs.net
Hub to support limited company directors
The Insolvency Service has launched an online information hub to support directors of micro, small and medium-sized limited companies. The hub includes guidance on a range of business themes commonly faced by company directors.
Read more about the hub here
Welcome to RESTART Ukraine UA
An exclusive programme partnering with LinkedIn for up-and-coming Ukrainian women entrepreneurs - whether you are just starting out or have an established business and want to scale. Restart Ukraine’s ultimate aim is to help build an economy in waiting. Our mission is to build an economy that empowers women entrepreneurs to establish thriving businesses, regardless of their location.
Read more about RESTART Ukraine here
TikTok contributes £1.63 billion to UK GDP
Investment in advertising and marketing on TikTok by small and medium-sized businesses in the UK generated £1.2 billion in revenue in 2022, with the food and beverage sector benefiting the most (£0.6 billion). According to Oxford Economics, one in five businesses which started less than five years ago spend more than half of their social media budgets on TikTok.
Read more about the figures here
Plans to change business rates relief for empty property
Plans to change the criteria for claiming empty property relief in England have been published. Currently vacant properties are eligible for business rates relief for three months, or six months for industrial units. The same property cannot then benefit from a further period of relief until it has been occupied for a minimum of six weeks, known as a ‘reset period’. Under the plans the reset period would increase to six months.
Read more about the plans here
New approach to apprenticeship admin welcomed
The Government has announced plans to create a digital skills platform to help simplify the process of hiring an apprentice. According to the FSB the platform will reduce the admin required to secure an apprentice by a third and streamline the process for non-levy payers to claim funding.
Read more about the platform here