South Yorkshire chiefs lend their support to small business owners

23rd March 2022

Business, civic and education chiefs are urging South Yorkshire small business owners to sign up to a scheme aimed at helping them develop new opportunities.

Higher Skills Higher Growth offers free support to small and medium sized enterprises, start-ups and micro-businesses.

A business breakfast event this month will provide more details about the programme, which also helps small businesses to diagnose challenges and innovate.

Making Business: Ready for the Future will focus on the challenges of hiring and retaining skilled staff and the opportunities to link with local universities and further education colleges to recruit a diverse and inclusive workforce. 

Around 70 guests have signed up to attend the event, which is being hosted at The Sheffield College on Granville Road, on March 29th, 2022, from 8am until 11.30am. 

The keynote speakers are:

• Martin McKervey, High Sheriff of South Yorkshire
• Karen Mosley, President of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce
• Angela Foulkes, Chief Executive and Principal of The Sheffield College 
• Solat Chaudhry, Group Chief Executive of the UK and Irish Centre for Diversity 
• Marjory Da Costa-Abreu, Senior Lecturer and Dept. Lead for Equality, Diversion and Inclusion, Sheffield Hallam University

Martin McKervey, High Sheriff of South Yorkshire, said: “It is a privilege and an honour to be invited to The Sheffield College to be a part of the Higher Skills Higher Growth project. This work is hugely important and significant for everyone in South Yorkshire as it impacts on our communities, young people, businesses and economy.”

Karen Mosley, President of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: “Growing our businesses and economy requires a skilled workforce and a diverse talent pipeline for the future. Collaboration initiatives such as the Higher Skills Higher Growth project really support employers’ and learners’ needs and will create high quality opportunities to unlock the potential of our region.”

Angela Foulkes, Chief Executive and Principal, The Sheffield College, commented: "Investing in skills is critical for business success. We are delighted to showcase the free support available to SMEs, start-ups and micro-businesses to inspire the creation of new opportunities."

Conor Moss, Professor of Work-Based Learning, Sheffield Hallam University, added: “We understand that every SME is unique, so finding the best ways that we can support you and add real value to a business is key. As a University we have a huge range of support available to SMEs, but many businesses don’t know how to access it. This event will hopefully showcase the breadth of support on offer and how businesses can take advantage of it.”

Higher Skills Higher Growth is delivered in partnership by Sheffield Hallam University, The Sheffield College and RNN Group, and is part-funded by the European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020.

Its free support for businesses includes:

• the provision of links to funded initiatives to help businesses innovate and grow.
• matching skilled graduates and students for short and long-term projects and placements.
• workforce upskilling and professional development programmes.
• collaboration with sector-specialist academics to solve organisational problems.

To register for the event, please visit https://www.shu.ac.uk/business/events/making-business-ready-for-the-future