Calderdale College has helped develop over 250 businesses and nearly 1,000 individuals across York, North Yorkshire and East Riding, through the Business Scale Up Programme.

Since the project launched in 2021, over £1 million has been invested in SMEs through free expert advice, and discounted training and consultancy to help grow and develop businesses as they seek to tackle challenges and build resilience.

This bespoke service covered areas of business development including change management, digitalisation and creating a strategy to support employers with making their growth plans a reality. Support also considered how businesses were affected by the coronavirus pandemic and how to respond as a business.

Employers were able to access training and consultancy at a reduced cost, with the programme funding 40 per cent to enable business growth that may not have been achievable previously. Business owners and managers commented on how the programme helped shape their firms to recruit and retain the best talent, and one employer highlighted that the training has standardised management across the workforce to better support employees and their development.

Ebrahim Dockrat, Director of Commercial Services and Partnerships at Calderdale College, said: “This has been a brilliant project to support economic growth across the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding region.

“Calderdale College is committed to supporting businesses through high-quality education and training programmes, and the positive result of the Business Scale Up Programme showcases how bespoke training and consultancy can help businesses forward plan to achieve success.”

The project was created to tackle the Department for Work and Pensions priorities on developing leadership and management to support businesses with scale up ambitions in key sectors including Agritech, Bio-Renewables and Food Manufacture.

The objectives were focused on increasing skills levels of employed people to encourage progression in employment, address basic skills needs in SMEs and micro businesses, and to increase the number of people with technical and job specific skills to unlock business growth.

The Business Scale Up Programme was delivered by Calderdale College, working in partnership with local training providers, and part-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme 2014-2020. 

To find out more about how Calderdale College supports businesses through apprenticeships, business training and programmes, click here.