From grant funding to support and conferences, Worcestershire County Council has been making a concerted effort to boost local business. Most recently, it was reported that 40 businesses in the county had been given grants from the Innovation, Elevate, and Enterprising Worcestershire grants program. These grants ranged from £1,000 to £30,000 and were match-funded, with each being tailored to different stages of a business.
Initiatives like this will help local businesses to battle against the increasingly prominent overseas goliaths and adapt to the ever-changing world of technology. Without having the means, money, or knowledge to adapt in the modern day, a business can fade into obscurity. As much as these programs can provide the fuel needed to explore great ideas, creating a place where innovation can occur requires a different kind of initiative.
Businesses Getting a Boost from the Council
Along with the series of grants assigned to businesses of all sizes earlier this year, Worcestershire County Council has also been setting up more events and training opportunities to help firms get a boost. At the end of August, the County Council encouraged the use of Skills Bootcamps. These training programmes are flexible, free or heavily subsidised, and are designed to up-skill staff to propel long-term growth.
Highlighted by the Worcestershire County Council and co-promoted through the Worcestershire Growth Hub, councillor Alan Amos said that businesses that want to stay competitive should tap into these Skills Bootcamps. They’re led by the employer and are targeted to enable employees to develop their skills in ways that are useful to that particular business.
Earlier in the summer this year, the council also helped to put on the Business Worcestershire Growth, Skills & Grant Support Conference. With 120 business representatives in attendance, it further cemented links in the local business community, enabling the area to be even more welcoming to new and aspiring entrepreneurs. Further, conferences like this greatly help businesses to share ideas and collaborate to further the sector as a whole.
Sparking Innovation in British Business
Innovation is what drives the business world and is what enables any given company to edge ahead of its peers locally, nationally, or internationally. It can come in the form of a better business model, a refined process to make operations more efficient, or through a new product that presents customers with something that they haven’t experienced before.
You don’t have to look far to see British businesses innovating. In fact, one of the most successful forms of entertainment business has found a way to introduce a whole new product to the scene. This is demonstrated by the prominence of Slingo Rainbow Riches at a popular online bingo site. The core game combines bingo and slot play, while this particular game also incorporates one of the most popular slot games of all time, Rainbow Riches.
In this example, the business combined two popular products into one to stand out as an innovative games provider. However, embracing new technologies to enhance old systems and processes can be just as effective as a brand new product. Right now, the Heart of Worcestershire College has a new AI business support hub ready to help budding entrepreneurs learn, research, and adopt the potentially transformative tech.
For any of these cases of innovation to occur, the business needs to seek new ways to operate, delve into what customers want, and find ways to deliver on a new level. Right now, Worcestershire County Council is offering tools that can help businesses realise innovative ideas which will help them take that next step.
Article by Ben Spencer.
