The Staffordshire Means Back to Business support programmes include an investment to fund wages for 500 apprentices, a training top-up fund for businesses to upskill their employees, a grants scheme to enable small businesses to thrive, a loan scheme for people who want to set up their own business and have completed the online Start-Up training course and more funding to support entrepreneurs currently in further education students to set up their own business.
- Small Business to Thrive Financial Support: Grants of £2,000 to £5,000 will be available to cover additional expenditure for essential businesses staying open during the pandemic and those with a plan to recover and get back to growth. Applicants will need to demonstrate all the measures they have put in place to remain open during the restriction period or the growth plan they have in place. Use this link to find out more about the process, eligibility and express an interest in a grant.
- The Staffordshire 500 Apprentices Wage Support programme offers incentives to employers to take on 16 to 24-year-olds by contributing to the costs associated with recruiting and retaining an apprentice. It will support smaller companies that do not pay into the national apprenticeship levy. The programme could also offer apprentices progression from the national Kickstart scheme. Use this link to find out more on how to express an interest and apply
- Free Training Top-up Project offers employers support to upskill their employees or train new staff in accordance with their changing business operations or entering new markets. Grants of up to £5,000 would be provided and matched through other funding sources. Up to 400 Staffordshire businesses could be supported over the next 15 months through the programme. Find out more and express an interest
- In addition to these programmes, the Borough Council is partnering with the Federation of Small Business to offer Borough based micro businesses (employing 1-4 people) a free 12 month membership package with the FSB. Businesses must not be a current FSB member and the memberships will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis for eligible applicants. Successful applicants will have all the benefits of full membership straight away. There are a limited number of these memberships available so if interested, email us on this address as soon as possible, giving us the following details.
- Your name (or applicant name)
- Business name
- Address (You must be based in the Borough, i.e. paying business rates/council tax to NuLBC)
- Contact details (Telephone and email)
- of employees (remember to include yourself – offer is only open to businesses employing 1-4 people)
The links above should take you to all the information you need to decide if any of these support programmes are for you but, if you feel the council’s Economic Regeneration team is able to help in any other way, please get in touch.
We wish you every success in the future.
