Event Alert – Unlock the potential of apprenticeships for your Surrey SME!
Published 15 January 2025
Events and awards, Skills and workforce
Are you a Surrey-based small business facing a skills gap? Do you find it difficult to find staff with the right skills to meet the needs of your business now and in the future?
Discover how apprenticeships can be the perfect solution for your business success at the latest in our series of free webinars!
Join us for this informative one-hour session, led by apprenticeship expert Laura Kerry, from Surrey County Councilโs careers team. Laura will guide you through the benefits of apprenticeships, explain more about how they work, and uncover just how straightforward the apprenticeship hiring process can be.
Why should you attend – what will you learn about apprenticeships for Surrey SMEs?
By attending this webinar you will learn:
How you can benefit from the Apprenticeship Levy by using it to fund your apprenticeโs training
Real-life success stories of apprenticeships in action
Access to resources and support to help you hire your apprentice immediately
Donโt miss this opportunity to enhance and future-proof your workforce’s skills base with skilled apprenticeships for your Surrey SME.
Register now and take the first step towards bridging your skills gap!
Free support for Surrey SMEs
Business Surrey is Surrey County Council’s service providing free and accessible support for all businesses across Surrey.
Our experts are on hand to provide tailored advice to help your business grow and succeed. Get in touch with the team viaย our business support form.
Runnymede businesses open doors to the workforce of tomorrow
Published 15 January 2025
Skills and workforce
During the month of December, a number of Runnymede-based businesses generously opened their doors and gave their time to groups of secondary school students as part of Runnymede Open Doors programme.
The Open Doors programme allows students to engage with local employers at their workplaces, offering insights into the types of roles available and the different entry paths into the business or industry sector. Open Doors visits provide young people with a valuable chance to explore potential career paths in different industries, learn about the skills employers are looking for, and enhance their own employability skills.
Runnymede Borough Council, Business Runnymede and Surrey Careers Hub worked in partnership to design and deliver the Runnymede Open Doors programme in 2024-2025, supported by the governmentโs UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The program kicked off in earnest in November with approximately 180 young people from six secondary schools taking part in 15 experiences at 7 business locations across Runnymede. More experiences are planned over January and February 2025.
Matt Furniss, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Growth said: โWe are delighted to be able to run Open Doors in Runnymede to enable young people to gain first-hand experience of differing workplaces and have genuine conversations with local employers.
โProgrammes of this type, investing in the workforce of tomorrow, are vital in ensuring the long-term success of our regional economy, and we appreciate the time and energy the participating businesses have invested into the success of the scheme.โ
A total of 10 Runnymede businesses have signed up for the scheme, offering to give their time and support to the programme by hosting students at their premises. Each business devised their own unique itinerary to help the students experience a little of what it would be like to work there and hear more about the career pathways available. At Avery Healthcare the students met several of the homeโs residents, toured the premises and watched an exciting match of Balloon Tennis. They also had the opportunity to ask staff and residents for their own views.
Groups of students who visited Kick-X were first able to let off a bit of steam and understand the customer experience by trying out the various hybrid football facilities at the venue. They then took part in an interactive workshop where they brainstormed solutions to real-life challenges and opportunities faced by the business โ offering some unique perspectives the business may otherwise not have heard.
The experience was a great success, as this teacher remarked, โWe all absolutely enjoyed todayโs visit to Kick X. Max has been fantastic. The session was very well planned, delivered. Max was enthusiastic, well-spoken and captured the studentโs attention. He talked about the business, jobs, skills and values in a very exciting way and the students have got a lot from the session. They not only enjoyed the practical part but also the theory where they were taking part in some business ideas, offering advice and creativity. All our learning objectives were met thanks to Max. We are very grateful for this valuable opportunity.โ
The young people visiting Thorpe Park were tested on their knowledge of the theme parkโs history and heard the career stories of several key members of staff before undertaking an eye-opening behind-the-scenes tour of the park.
Almost every student who completed an evaluation form responded that the visit had helped them to understand more about the jobs and careers available with that employer, and 100% said theyโd like to attend more employer visits in the future.
The program will run until the end of March 2025 with planning underway for Open Day experiences for college students in the borough still to take place.
Participating schools and businesses:
Businesses
Thorpe Park
Avery Healthcare
Kick-X Football Arena
Geek Retreat
Stanhope-Seta
Snap Fitness
Achieve Lifestyle
Egham Orbit
Chop & Change Hair Salon
Page Personnel
Schools
Chertsey High School
Phillip Southcote School
Magna Carta School
Walton-Leigh School
Jubilee High School
Fullbrook School
Play your part
There are lots of ways Surrey businesses can support Surreyโs future workforce.
Want to support the work of the Surrey Careers Hub? Weโre looking for professionals from all sectors and business of all sizes to work with Careers Leaders and Education Leaders asย Enterprise Advisersย to shape their careers education strategies. Get in touch viaย our contact us formย for further details.
On a slightly damp December day, the Department for Education (DfE) joined the Surrey County Council (SCC) Multiply team at a local community garden. The aim was to see Multiply ‘in action’ and hear about its impact directly from the learners.
Multiply is a range of free, flexible courses (funded by government) to help adults improve their number skills and build their number confidence. Surrey’s Multiply providers have taken a creative and flexible approach to deliver courses that adapt to meet learners’ needs and the DfE were keen to see this in action.
Creative delivery, flexing to meet learners’ needs
The visit was at Surrey Care Trust’s Gateway Community Garden in Reigate. Course leaders here are embedding maths skills into garden projects. This means that students learn and apply maths and numeracy skills while they calculate lengths, areas, volumes etc, to build raised beds, create ponds and grow small crops.
This was the second time the SCC Multiply team has visited the project at the Gateway garden. The first visit took place in early spring 2024 and was captured on video (watch it below). This time the team were delighted to see how much progress had been made, both in terms of the garden projects and the learners’ individual achievements.
One participant, Nick, who has been attending for several months, said: “It’s helped me a lot with everyday life, also with job seeking, numeracy skills, maths skills, soft skills like working in teams with people. It’s generally everything you’d need to get into a job nowadays.”
Multiply is available free of charge to both residents and businesses in Surrey, until the end of March 2025. Thereโs a huge range of Multiply courses available, with something to suit everyone. Businesses can also benefit from bespoke programs designed to suit the needs of their workforce.
Find out more
You can see the full list of available courses on theย Multiply website.
If youโd like to find out more about arranging bespoke courses for your organisation, emailย multiply.info@surreycc.gov.uk.
Centenary celebrations as Surrey business marks 100 years in Dorking
Published 18 December 2024
Business news
Throughout 2024 Bucher Municipal has been celebrating the centenary of its UK HQ site in Dorking, Surrey. Bucher engineers and manufactures cleaning and clearing equipment such as street sweepers, snow ploughs and the gritters that help keep our roads safe over the winter months.
The company has spent the last few months celebrating the Dorking site’s 100 year history of manufacturing, innovation and growth. Celebrations kicked off in August with an open day for employees and families. The day included live music, good food, and of course, sweeper rides for all.
Centenary celebrations
In September there was a further formal celebration event at the British Motor Museum with customers, partners, and suppliers. The evening saw over ยฃ158k being raised for three local Dorking charities, The Children’s Trust,The Brigitte Trust, and Dorking Beatitudes.
The centenary celebration provided the opportunity to look back at the expansion, and developments that have taken place at the Dorking site over the years, and to reflect on the business’s global sustainability strategy, reflecting Bucher’s commitment to sustainable growth and innovation.
During the year, staff also found time to visit a local primary school to demo street cleaning equipment so reception students could complete their topic on ‘People Who Help Us’.
Bucher Municipal has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a blacksmith’s shop in 1807. With 11 brands and 14 locations across the globe, the business is now a leading manufacturer ofย vehicles for streetย cleaning, snow removal and refuse collection worldwide. The company is proud to base its UK HQ in Surrey as it looks forward to its next century.
Relocate to Surrey
Our Invest in Surrey team offers free and confidential services for businesses looking to relocate to Surrey.
Whether youโre a start-up, SME or international company, you can benefit from specialist expertise, local knowledge and business support to help ensure a faster, more successful investment.
Check out some of the fantastic businesses based in Surrey on our Interactive Map.
Growth-focused event wins approval from Surrey businesses
Published 17 December 2024
Events and awards
Earlier this month Business Surrey held the latest in its series of complimentary workshops for Surrey businesses in partnership with Tandridge District Council and Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. This particular growth-focused event, was created in response to business feedback and support requests received by the Surrey Growth Hub.
The workshop was delivered by Business Surrey Specialist Advisor Roya Croudace, a skilled Commercial Director, Founder, and Non-Executive Director with over 25 years of expertise in driving business growth.
Roya kicked off the event by busting the myth that winning more customers is all about cold calling and hard selling. Roya then shared her proven sales growth strategies based on developing a strong understanding of your market and building relationships with your customers.
The workshop included a section on what a Value Proposition is, why your business needs to have one, and how to develop your own. Roya also shared strategies and tips for gaining and retaining customers, tips on lead generation, and the art of negotiation and closing.
Roya finished with a helpful section on using AI and digital tools to streamline and support sales and other business processes.
Positive feedback
Workshop attendees were highly engaged throughout, both asking questions and sharing their own experiences. Roya remarked, โIt was inspiring to see so many passionate business owners come together, eager to enhance their skills and drive their businesses forward.
โThe engagement in the room was outstanding, and the valuable insights sharedโboth from myself and the attendeesโtruly highlighted the power of collaboration and learning together.
โA huge thank you to everyone who joined us and to our fantastic partners for helping make this event such a success. Hereโs to continued growth and success for all!”
Attendees were equally pleased with the growth-focused event experience, with one remarking, โIt was a great workshop and good to see that businesses are being supported.โ
And another noting, โThank you for the continuous support from Business Surrey. Iโve signed up for the newsletter to stay informed about future events and services.โ
Support for Surrey businesses
We deliver a program of regular webinars and workshops offering insights and guidance on topics of value to Surrey SMEs. Our workshops and webinars are always free to join, and there are no limits on the number of attendees from a single organisation.
Multiply providers’ network meeting reviews achievements of scheme ahead of final quarter
Published 13 December 2024
Skills and workforce
The latest Multiply Providers Network workshop took place in early December at Surrey County Council’s Woodhatch offices, to review the program’s progress so far, and look ahead to the final Quarter.
The workshop was hosted by Surrey Adult Learning Principal, Francis Lawlor, and attended by representatives from the 15 Surrey Multiply training partners. Additionally, three members of the Department for Education (DfE) Multiply team attended; David Saffery, Josephine Howarth and Charlotte Piper.
The workshop was an opportunity for Multiply providers to review and share success stories and best practice, and learn from other organisation’s creative and flexible approaches to meeting learner needs.
The DfE attended to hear first-hand from providers and learn more about the positive impact and outcomes for learners across the county.
Creative approaches by providers
Surrey Multiply providers had previously come together for the first time at a network meeting in September where they were able to begin to build working relationships. At the December meeting providers shared and discussed the results of those professional partnerships. Many providers have been able to refer learners between themselves, and to join together to deliver some Multiply projects.
The meeting’s attendees all agreed to meet again before the program ends in March 2026, to discuss ways to preserve and amplify the Multiply legacy. Everyone agreed this was vitally important in order to ensure the program’s impact has long-lasting positive effects amongst those Surrey communities most in need of numeracy support.
For more information about the Multiply program
Up to 1 in 7 adults in Surrey do not have a GCSE equivalent in maths. The government-funded Multiply programme aims to change that, by offering free flexible numeracy courses packed with practical tips.
Our team of experts can provide tailored advice to help your business grow and succeed. Get in touch to find out more via our business support form.
You can also register to receive our newsletter, packed with the latest information on events, funding and more, for all Surrey businesses.
Event alert: Idea theft ends here! Understanding Intellectual Property
Published 9 December 2024
Advice and support, Events and awards
This interactive workshop has been developed to provide business owners and entrepreneurs with the insights and information you need to understand intellectual property (IP) rights and protect your business’s IP.
This is a complimentary in-person workshop being held by Business Surrey in partnership with Surrey Heath Borough Council. The workshop will take place at Surrey Heath Borough Council offices on Wednesday 29 January, from 8.30am to 11am.
Topics we’ll cover on the day:
Introduction to Intellectual Property (IP)
The different types of IP Rights available to you
Importance of IP in todayโs economy
Practical case studies and examples of IP disputes
Basics of IP registration and enforcement
Interactive Q&A session
The workshop will be led by Laurie Heizler, from TWM Solicitors. Laurie is a Partner in the Business Law department. He has acted for clients in the technology, media and education sectors as well as for several household names in the world of consumer goods. He has extensive experience of dealing with IP matters and disputes relating to patents, trade marks, designs, copyright and confidential information. Laurie’s well-earned reputation for explaining IP matters clearly, makes him the perfect speaker to bring the topic of IP to life for this workshop. Laurie will be joined by his IP-focussed Trainee Solicitor, Grace Makungu for the Q&A part of the workshop.
By attending this workshop, you can expect to gain a stronger understanding of the principles of intellectual property rights, and how to effectively protect your business’s own intellectual property.
This event is perfect for SME owners and entrepreneurs in Surrey. There is no entry fee and no limit on the number of attendees from a single business. Spaces are limited and you must pre-register to attend. Register today to save your place.
Free support for Surrey SMEs
Business Surrey is a Surrey County Council service offering free and accessible support for all businesses in Surrey.
Our experts are on hand to provide tailored advice to help your SME grow and succeed. Get in touch with a member of the team via our business support form.
Affordable Housing Roundtable underscores the need for a co-ordinated approach
Published 9 December 2024
Business news
In November this year, a roundtable took place to look at the delivery of affordable housing in Surrey. It was attended by over 30 representatives from registered social housing providers, developers and senior local authority representatives drawn from across the county. ย
The session was chaired by Brian Horton of Horton Strategic Ltd, with presentations from Cllr Sinead Mooney, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, and Lydia McLaren from Savills.
The roundtable highlighted the pressing housing crisis in Surrey. Currently median house prices in the county are 11.9 times the median resident earnings, making homeownership increasingly unattainable for many. The South East has seen a 7% decrease in homes gaining planning consent and an 18% decrease in new home starts as of Q3 2024. Savills estimates there is a sub-market housing need of 187,000 homes per year across England, but many areas in Surrey are delivering less than 20% of their affordable housing need. Some districts have reported no affordable housing completions at all in the last six months.
During the session, representatives from both registered social housing providers and developers gave their views on the current process of delivering affordable housing. Both groups highlighted multiple areas where systemic change is required to enable them to deliver the volume of affordable homes that will be required to meet the countyโs current and future requirements.
Conclusion
The roundtable was a highly engaged session that increased understanding of the challenges faced by different organisations in Surrey and beyond. The session ended with a unanimous call for a follow-up roundtable where attendees could come together again to work towards finding actionable strategies to meet the region’s affordable housing needs.
Organisations taking part in the Roundtable
Accent Housing Group
Aster Group
Bellway
Barratt David Wilson Homes
DHA Planning
English Rural Housing Association
Guildford Borough Council
Homes England
Horton Strategic Limited
Hyde Housing
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors
Kier
Mole Valley District Council
Raven Housing Trust
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
Savills
Spelthorne Borough Council
Surrey County Council
Surrey Heath Borough Council
Tandridge District Council
Transform Housing & Support
Vivid Homes
Wates
Whitmore Vale Housing Association
Support for your business
Business Surrey is a Surrey County Council service providing free and accessible support for all businesses in Surrey. Our team of experts can provide independent and impartial advice on growing your business.
Woking FC joins the Multiply team to boost adult numeracy in Surreyย ย
Published 6 December 2024
Skills and workforce
Woking FC has teamed up with Surrey County Council to encourage its supporters to sign up to Multiply adult numeracy courses so they don’t get caught offside when figuring things out.ย
Up to 1 in 7 adults in Surrey do not have a GCSE equivalent in maths and the government-funded Multiply programme aims to change that by offering free flexible numeracy courses packed with practical tips.
Woking FCโs strong links to both the local and wider community meant it was an obvious choice for partnership with the council to promote the Multiply program to the communities who could most benefit.
Clare Curran, Surrey County Councilโs Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Lifelong learning, said: โWe are delighted that Woking FC is supporting the Multiply campaign by promoting it to their supporters and the wider community.
“Around half of the UK working age population donโt have strong numeracy skills, or donโt feel confident about using numbers. Multiply has been created to help bridge that numeracy skills gap to help Surrey adults reach their full potential and ensure no one is left behind.
Simon Jones, Business Development Director for Woking FC said: โWoking FC have always been keen promoters of lifelong learning amongst our own staff and teams, so we are delighted to be able to add our support for the Multiply program.”The Multiply program is a fantastic opportunity for people to improve their maths skills and confidence and weโd encourage all our supporters and visitors to check out the range of free courses on offer.โ
There is a wide range of both online and in-person courses available through Multiply. Many have been created to fill the needs of specific industries, such as construction, healthcare and early years, while others are designed to cater to personal interests such as gardening and cooking.
Courses are running now and continue until the end of March 2025. To qualify, learners must be based in Surrey, aged 19 or over, and without a GCSE (or equivalent) in Maths.
Multiply for businesses
Multiply is also free for businesses who wish to upskill their workforce. Surrey County Council can support your business by sourcing the most suitable Multiply training provider to deliver a bespoke Multiply course created specifically to solve your own workforce’s numeracy needs. Email multiply.info@surreycc.gov.uk for more information on free Multiply adult numeracy training for businesses, or check out the list of courses here: www.surreycc.gov.uk/multiply.
Other support for Surrey businesses
Our team of experts can provide tailored advice to help your business grow and succeed. Get in touch to find out more via our business support form.
You can also register to receive our newsletter, packed with the latest information on events, funding and more, for all Surrey businesses.
Events roundup – December
Published 28 November 2024
Events and awards
Events and awards
As 2024 draws to a close, we continue to offer collaborative ways to boost your business that fit around the working day. Highlights are included here but donโt forget to check out the full list of Surrey events in December on our events page.
This monthโs events include our own free, in-person workshop to Accelerate Growth and Win More Customers (do register to avoid disappointment – there are only a few spaces left now), as well as a half-day course on Customs Procedures and Documentation
Festive events
If you fancy getting festive at the same time as networking and learning, why not join Reigate and Banstead Borough Council for their Festive Learning Lunch (12 December) get-together, or the Surrey Chamber of Commerce Annual Christmas Lunch (18 December).
Online events
If you canโt make the in-person events, put the kettle on and join on-line for the IoD Surrey Branch Directors Member Coffee & Connect (3 December), or how about the nTrust 5 Cool things to do with Copilot (4 December) webinar to learn how to maximise your use of Microsoft 365’s AI capabilities?
Submit your own event
Donโt forget, our events directory is a great way to promote your own business events to a wider audience. If your organisation is hosting or sponsoring a business event in Surrey, you can submit it for inclusion in the directory by completing this simple form.
Free support for Surrey SMEs
Business Surrey offers free and accessible support for all businesses in Surrey.
Our experts are on hand to provide tailored advice to help your SME grow and succeed. Get in touch with a member of the team via our business support form.
