Calling Kirkby and Sutton: businesses, employees and entrepreneurs can benefit from free support, training and grants

This is all thanks to Enterprising Ashfield, a fully funded programme delivered by Nottingham Trent University on behalf of Ashfield District Council as part of their Towns Fund Programme, which provides support to improve business productivity and enhance the skills of residents and employees in the Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield areas.

Kelvin Eatherington, Manager of the Enterprising Ashfield Project, spoke to us about the support it offers.

“Enterprising Ashfield is all about change and growth and provides a combination of free advice and training, grants and 1-2-1 support which is available to people living or working within the Kirkby and Sutton Towns Fund area or businesses already based here – be they large, small, brand new or long-established.

“This could be someone looking to start their own business and wants some advice and guidance; people looking to learn a new skill or improve existing knowledge, or a business that wants to improve productivity, develop a new innovative product or research the benefits of having a Graduate or Apprentice in their business.”

Start-up programme

Kelvin continued: “Our Start-Up programme is called HeadStart, and it is designed to help people set up their own business - whether it’s a side hustle or a fully-fledged enterprise. So far, we have helped 60 businesses get off the ground- from tattoo parlours to management consultancies and it all starts with a HeadStart course covering things like creating a business plan, marketing and budgeting & finances, plus there is £1,000 seed funding available too”.

Courses

Another support offer through Enterprising Ashfield is access to a vast range of short courses available to anyone living in the Towns Fund area.

These courses range from improving digital literacy to selling skills, better writing skills and many more. Kelvin gave examples of both employees and unemployed people who have benefitted from the varied courses available.

“We’ve had over 200 people attend over 40 courses to enhance their skills or improve their employability and chances of promotion at work. We have seen long-term unemployed people who have gone on to set up their own business or find work which benefits the local economy and also benefits the individuals and their self-worth.

We also offer bespoke courses to businesses where we can upskill staff members in a wide range of subjects, and this increases staff engagement” Kelvin said.

Business support

Enterprising Ashfield also offers a comprehensive business support programme designed to assist businesses with their productivity, recruitment and retention and the introduction of new and innovative products and procedures.

“The main feedback we get from businesses is that sometimes they haven’t got the time, resources or expertise to do what they want to do and if we can help with that then we can help that business to progress”.

This could be placing a talented graduate into a business to look at a specific project or challenge and the Enterprising Ashfield Talent Strand is all about identifying expertise where talented graduates, often skilled experienced workers, are linked up with businesses who might require a particular skillset. These posts are match-funded and are ideal for businesses which lack the precise skills – be that a marketing person or a chemist, a data-analyst or a web designer – to get a project off the ground.

Kelvin said the majority of graduates placed have gone on to become permanent and key members of staff. “We help with finding just the right person with the business having full control from start to finish,” he said.

Apprenticeships

Other areas of support look at exploring the benefits of apprenticeships, particularly to existing staff members. Kelvin described one scenario of a firm which had a 70 per cent staff turnover – people left because there was no real route for progression in the company. Offering management and leadership courses to employees through the scheme has improved the workforce’s skillsets and reduced staff turnover.

Enterprising Ashfield also has a comprehensive business Growth strand that offers a business diagnostic to look at barriers to growth and challenges and then working on a series of actions to move a company forward. This could include working collaboratively with an academic to introduce a new innovative product or procedure.

Don’t wait to take that first step.

There is a lot of information on the website about these areas of support and more. “It’s not just about what we can offer but what people require individually or as a business,” Kelvin said.

If you think you, or your company could benefit from any of this support, or you have an idea but are not sure quite where it fits into the support on offer, contact the friendly and approachable team at Enterprising Ashfield. Email [email protected] or visit the website ( to find out more.