An event to support urban and rural SME’s across Dorset is being planned for this month. ‘Investing in Dorset’ is the brainchild of Duncan Breckell, Employment and Skills Manager at the Spectrum Housing Group working with the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Investing in Dorset aims to bring together a range of business people keen to work together for the mutual benefit of employers, the next generation of Dorset workers and the regional economy as a whole.
Speaking of the event Duncan commented, “Looking at the government’s growth agenda which asks communities to form strong partnerships for mutual success, Investing in Dorset will be an ideal opportunity to discover the types of business grants and support that is available to help SME’s in particular. By providing or creating job opportunities this could be a business benefit as well as a boost to the local community.”
The Investing in Dorset event will take place at Kingston Maurward House, Kingston Maurward College, Dorchester at 10.00am on Monday 12th May 2014. Keynote speakers will include Robin Walker, Key Account Manager at Jewson, discussing employer engagement within the skills agenda, including successes with the Pathways programme; Dorset’s Apprentice Ambassador from ‘Apprentices Mean Business’ Ben Clarke who is also Quality Manager at Superior Seals; and former government Minister Jonathan Shaw. There will also be representatives from the Dorset LEP and from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
It is also hoped that the event will assist smaller companies look at how they can meet the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda. Duncan added, “Large organisations have teams of people looking at their CSR commitments. We hope that Investing in Dorset will show SME’s pioneering and innovative ways to address CSR through the skills agenda. We are sitting on a time bomb if we don’t look at creative and innovative ways of promoting Dorset jobs to the next generation.”
Attendance at Investing in Dorset event is free of charge and includes a light lunch and networking opportunities. Anyone interested can register at Eventbrite https://investindorset.eventbrite.com
Alternatively contact Duncan Breckell at the Spectrum Housing Group on 01425 283636.
Julie-Ann Houldey
