UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Business Support Programme

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. Visit UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus for more information. 

Visit the Cheshire West and Chester Council website for information on the UKSPF Communities and Place, and People and Skills projects.

Delivery Partner:

West Cheshire & North Wales (WCNW) Chamber of Commerce

Project Detail:

Providing 121 tailored support, advice and guidance aimed at supporting businesses to develop, grow and build resilience. The advisers have a wide range of experience to help guide your business to appropriate support, training, and grants, working closely with local and national business support partners.

Additionally, this project will support entrepreneurship activity through a mix of networking, workshops and a start-up club, helping new businesses to start and existing businesses, trading less than 2 years, to develop and build confidence.

Delivery Partner:

Cheshire West & Chester Council

Project Detail:

Grant funding for digital connectivity projects in rural west Cheshire community building/spaces.

This project will support eligible rural west Cheshire community buildings/spaces with free installation of a 5G Ready Antenna and a pre-loaded sim-card to cover data usage for a period of 12 months. 

Before completing the Expression of Interest Form (EOI) below please use the Magic website, DEFRA's online mapping platform, to check that your building/space is in a rural location, as defined by the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) boundaries. Building/spaces that are not classed as rural by the REPF will be ineligible for the grant. This link provides instructions on how to navigate the Magic website.

Digital Connectivity Grant EOI

(before completing the EOI please ensure you have checked rural eligibility using the Magic website - more details above)

Delivery Partner:           

Groundwork

Project Detail: 

Grants, advice, guidance, and support to help businesses to accelerate a shift to Net Zero and a more sustainable low carbon economy.

The project will help companies to identify cost savings through energy reduction opportunities in their operations, lowering their carbon footprint. 

Eligible businesses will be able to access a grant to help adopt low carbon technologies. The grant is focused on, but not exclusively, businesses with more than 5 employees.

Delivery Partner:

West Cheshire & North Wales (WCNW) Chamber of Commerce

Project Detail:

Updated 09/11/24 - Training Grants now fully committed

Following a training needs analysis/training plan funding up to £2,000 available for businesses for non-mandatory training to support employers to upskill existing staff to enable them to grow, diversify, and become more inclusive.

Delivery Partner:

University of Chester

Project Detail:

Providing training for employers to enable them to become more inclusive in their approach to recruitment of staff and support current employees to thrive.

Delivery Partner:           

Nexus Earth

Project Detail: 

The Innovation Access to Excellence project supports businesses to navigate the extensive local and national innovation support opportunities on offer.

Through a combination of support, including workshops, networking opportunities, and one-on-one advice, the project will assist your business in exploring opportunities to adopt new technologies, enhance efficiency, build resilience, and access new markets and resources.

The project will demystify the current innovation support offerings available locally and nationally by introducing you to key technology and strategic partners that can help your business’s growth journey.

This support is specifically targeted at manufacturing, production and engineering businesses in West Cheshire, with a focus on those that employ 5-50 staff.

Delivery Partner:

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)

Project Detail:

The Cheshire Innovation Network (CIN) provides eligible West Cheshire businesses with an in-depth programme of idea development, which supports them to embed a repeatable innovation process, develop a network of peers, and identify specific support and collaboration opportunities.

Key content in this interactive programme includes:

• Principles of lean innovation
• Identification of key customers
• Value proposition development
• Prototyping and market testing
• Action learning sessions to facilitate the development of an innovation support network 

The programme, aimed at business leaders in manufacturing, engineering and production sectors, is delivered in cohorts of peers. We also deliver a series of workforce development one day workshops for other staff in the business, designed to create a wider understanding of innovation and support new concept development within the business.  

Delivery Partner:

University of Chester (UoC)

Project Detail:

Updated 09/11/24 Innovation grants now fully committed

Grants to support businesses to expedite the adoption of innovation changes that will lead to increased productivity, growth and the introduction of new technologies and products.

This support is predominantly targeted at established west Cheshire manufacturing, production, and engineering businesses with a focus on those that employ more than 5 staff.

Delivery Partner:

Warrington & Vale Royal College

Project Detail:

3 pilot short courses to respond to the training gaps identified in the LSIP, focusing particularly around manufacturing, health and social care sectors.

More Information:

Looking to elevate your business but unsure where to start?

The Cheshire & Warrington Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) supports local businesses with a team of dedicated specialists. They provide the information and guidance needed to upskill your workforce and elevate your business.

Through a network of educational institutions and employers, they offer the most effective and tailored training options for your business. But if you aren’t familiar with what an LSIP is, and why they are important… then see below.

What is the LSIP?

• It is a collaborative effort between employers, education providers and local stakeholders who have an aligned goal to create tailored training programs that meet the specific needs of the local labour market.

Why is the LSIP important?

• Bridging the Skills Gap:
  • Ensures training programs are relevant to local industry demands.
  • Helps address specific skills shortages in various sectors.

• Empowering Businesses:
  • Businesses have a direct say in shaping the skills and training landscape.
  • Ensures that the workforce is equipped with the right skills to drive economic growth.

• Boosting Employment:
  • Aligns education with real job opportunities, enhancing employability.
  • Supports local economic development by creating a pipeline of skilled workers.

• Fostering Collaboration:
  • Encourages partnerships between employers, educational institutions, and local authorities.
  • Promotes a shared vision for regional economic success!

So… how can the Cheshire & Warrington LSIP help your business?

Get in touch for more information, and to discuss your business needs. The team are there to guide you towards the resources that will propel your business forward.

Upskill your workforce with funded training and drive your business to the next level.

There is more information about how this project can help business with The Future of Skills T-Levels, Understanding Apprenticeship Levy Transfers and Improving Your Employees Technical Skills on our Business Tapas platform.

Delivery Partner:

Groundwork

Project Detail:

An opportunity for business to upskill and develop managers, supervisors or business leaders to take forward the company's ambitions around addressing challenges and opportunities around Net-Zero. The  programme of activity funded by UK SPF will include: 

• 2 day IEMA accredited Pathways to Net Zero training course,

• On-site support from a low carbon specialist to identify company specific opportunities and challenges for your company's Net-Zero plan. 
• Access to a programme of continual professional development webinars across a range of topics from energy efficiency, renewables, carbon foot printing, low carbon auditing and more. 

The benefits for employers will be the development of staff capability to carry out low carbon / net-zero audits of their business, and the creation of a net-zero strategy to communicate internally and externally the company's ambitions to move towards adopting a net zero approach.

Delivery Partner:

Multiple providers including West Cheshire & North Wales Chamber of Commerce

Project Detail:

The Multiply programme delivers maths support to those who need it, in a flexible and tailored way ensuring your feel more confident with numbers. The programme can help you progress on to courses that can get you a recognised qualification. Support is available for those aged 19 or over who do not have a maths GCSE at grade C/4.

Multiply Courses are part of the Council’s vision for an Inclusive Economy; supporting people to develop new skills, get into good jobs with fair wages, and reduce poverty and inequality. 

Multiply courses

Delivery Partner:

West Cheshire & North Wales (WCNW) Chamber of Commerce

Project Detail:

Supporting employers to identify solutions to support them to recruit, retain, and develop existing employee skills, aimed at growing low carbon/manufacturing sector in the borough, in particular at Origin, Ellesmere Port.

Delivery Partner:        

Cheshire Community Action

Project Detail:             

An enhanced business support and advisory service for pre-start, new and existing social enterprises in West Cheshire through face to face and online one to one support. Support includes guidance on social economy legal structures, business planning, attracting external investment and access to skills training.