Signposting services provide free support to Cornish businesses and residents
Three signposting hubs are providing key information and guidance to businesses and individuals, ensuring they are able to access the fully funded support available across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The recently launched People Hub has now joined with the well-established Growth and Skills Hub. Together they offer a unique and comprehensive signposting service to both Cornish residents and businesses. Over 30 projects are currently being delivered across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, through £100 million funding from the European Regional Development Fund, to specifically target local growth and productivity, and now also supporting businesses with resilience and recovery strategies to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. While a further £63 million from the European Social Fund is being invested in local projects that support inclusion, training and access to better jobs. Many of these projects will continue to run beyond 2020 and some into 2023, and the Hubs’ mission is to help businesses and individuals tap into the support that has been specifically funded to help them grow and develop.
THE GROWTH HUB
Now in its fifth year of delivery, the Growth Hub offers free business reviews to self-employed and small and medium enterprises (SMES). Businesses then get referred to targeted funded projects providing expert support on specific issues such as starting a new business, HR, finance, management, manufacture, export, research and development, and ultimately supporting local business growth.
THE SKILLS HUB
The Skills Hub is working in conjunction with the Growth Hub, focusing on upskilling the local workforce. Its team of skills experts are working on a one-to-one basis with Cornish businesses, helping them to thrive by identifying staff development and training opportunities to boost staff engagement and efficiency.
Businesses can find out whether they are eligible to this free support by calling the Growth and Skills Hub on 01209 708660 or they can visit http://www.ciosgrowthhub.com to webchat with the team or request a call back.
THE PEOPLE HUB
Responding to an increasing number of residents in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly finding themselves out of work and many others struggling to access work, the People Hub is the latest initiative funded through the CIOS Growth Programme to help people who are out of work and may not know where to turn for support. The People Hub team provides friendly, localised support and advice on a range of issues such as re-training and skills, successful job search, housing, finances, health, disabilities and family – in fact, any personal barrier which prevents individuals from accessing work. The team will work with four delivery partners: Konnect Communities who will embed change within communities, Hi9 who are developing a solutions-focussed chatbot, SmartMatching who will train people to become remote workers, and Council of Isles of Scilly who will deliver the project across the archipelago.
To receive advice and guidance from the People Hub call on 0333 0150699 or visit www.ciosgrowthhub.com/peoplehub
The support Hubs are all delivered by Cornwall Development Company, thanks to a £12 million investment from the CIOS Growth Programme, the regeneration programme for the county, which uses funding from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) to support local inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Since the start of the programme in 2014, over £409 million ESIF funding has been invested in 137 projects across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.