Manufacturers across Greater Birmingham are being offered the chance to share in at least £500,000 in funding to help them recover from the impact of coronavirus after a business support programme was extended.
Small- and medium-sized companies are now being urged to take advantage of the funding stream which is part of a larger £6.5 million pot being made available across the 海角视频.
Local firms can apply for a slice of the money which is being made available by the Manufacturing Growth Programme, a taxpayer-funded initiative to support manufacturing SMEs.
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership has ring fenced £500,000 of this pot in order to help companies within the West Midlands areas it operates.
The existing programme has been extended until December 2022 and will give a further 2,800 companies access to industry experts and grants to tackle immediate business issues and support improvement plans.
Birmingham Apprenticeship Awards 2020
The Birmingham Apprenticeship Awards are back for a second year, in partnership with the Ladder for Greater Birmingham. The event will be held online only on Friday November 27, 2020 and will celebrate apprentices, employers and training and education providers.
The deadline to enter has now passed - - but sponsorship opportunities are still available.
If you have any questions about the awards in general, please email paige.jackson@reachplc.com and contact nikki.kandola@reachplc.com if you would like to learn more about becoming a commercial partner of the awards.
For more information and please follow the hashtag #BAA20 for updates on social media.
The additional backing has the potential to safeguard and create hundreds of new jobs and takes the total package of support the Manufacturing Growth Programme's initiative is able to deliver to £18.3 million.
Successful applicants are given access to a dedicated manager who will help them develop an individual action plan and support business projects such as environmental improvements, management and marketing.
Most Read
Martin Coats, managing director of the Manufacturing Growth Programme, said: "All the media attention is on the headline manufacturers and how they are coping in the wake of covid-19.
"It's our job to look at how the smaller companies supporting these big businesses are performing and what we can do to help them.
"Our track record in delivering on-the-ground expert support was pivotal in us securing an additional £6.5 million of funding that is ring-fenced for ensuring SME manufacturers can overcome barriers to growth and return to doing what they do best - making things.
"Helping manufacturers is not easy and you need a tailored approach, delivered by experts who know what it is like working in industry."
A recent survey by the Manufacturing Growth Programme revealed an urgent need for greater and faster financial support from the Government for SMEs as they battled against falling sales and production volumes and the prospect of job cuts.
Mr Coats added: "It is no great surprise to see that every indicator for confidence among firms appears to have worsened over the last six months.
"That said, it is heartening to see some companies are adapting to the situation by diversifying their processes and product ranges in all manner of innovative ways.
Don’t miss
"While the number of projects we have supported has been maintained since the start of the covid-19 crisis, demand has shifted from the larger SMEs towards micro businesses.
"There is more demand for shorter-term marketing and product development projects and less for productivity and capacity building projects.
"As the economy recovers, it will be important to shift this pattern back, ensuring that support reaches larger SME manufacturers and delivers projects that rebuild capacity."