News & Grants
The Suppliers Skills Programme (SSP)
The Supplier Skills Programme has launched
The £12m SSP has launched and is open for applications. SSP operates on a funding round basis, with rounds being held every quarter until programme closure in March 2023 (subject to availability of grant funding), so complete your application form now to be considered.
Part funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and managed by Birmingham City Council (BCC), SSP is aimed at existing Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) seeking to upskill new and existing employees.
SSP responds directly to the skills and training needs identified by SMEs for their employees, thereby offering SMEs what they want and at the time they need It, in order to implement their skills and growth plans.
Training grant support available:
Training grants of between £500 to a maximum of £18,000 per SME are available and training will be funded 50% by the SME and 50% by the European Social Fund grant.
All training must be accredited by the Ofqual Framework otherwise it must be recognised by industry and professional accrediting bodies.
The grant will enable employees to achieve any of the following:
- Full qualifications level 1 to 7, or equivalent (including higher level management and leadership skills)
- Units or a unit of qualification at basic level
ARG Business Recovery Grant
ARG Business Recovery Scheme – administered by Birmingham City Council designed to provide Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs*) with grant funding of between £5,000 – £50,000 towards projects which will drive business recovery and safeguard existing jobs. Established SMEs within any sector that have been actively trading (3 months actual sales and income) for a minimum of the last 3 months and seeking to implement a recovery plan, can apply.
All grants are subject to applicants meeting the eligibility criteria and applications will be assessed on a first come/first served basis and subject to availability of funds.
Businesses wishing to apply for a grant will need to have a BRUM account set up.
Further information on the schemes and the conditions can be found on the website.
- This scheme is designed to provide Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs*) with grant funding of between £5,000 – £50,000 towards projects which will drive business recovery and safeguard existing jobs.
- Established SMEs within any sector that have been actively trading (3 months actual sales and income) for a minimum of the last 3 months and seeking to implement a recovery plan, can apply.
- Businesses will have to obtain approval prior to commencing their projects, which will need to be financially completed within 3 months from the date the application is approved, including spend, defrayal and claiming the grant. Priority will be given to investment-ready projects that can be completed within this period.
Business Growth Programme Grant
The BGP – administered by Birmingham City Council.
Grant Support available:
- For Start-Up B2B** SMEs based in The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership area only, grants of £2,500 to £10,000 are on offer.
- For existing B2B** SMEs, based in The Greater Birmingham and Solihull or The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership areas, grants of £10,000 to £1,000,000 are available.
Grants are subject to eligibility criteria and availability of funds and are restricted to 1 per business.
A BGP2 grant is offered on the basis of a company creating new jobs.
For existing businesses, every £10,000 grant awarded must result in 1 full-time job being created.
For Start-Ups based in The Marches LEP area only, for every grant of £2,500 to £10,000 awarded, 1 full-time job must be created.
Grant funding is limited and subject to availability.
All of the documents you will need to apply for a BGP2 grant are available now from here
AIM for Gold Grant
AIM for Gold – administered by Wolverhampton City Council for SMEs based in the Black Country.
Grant Programme
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the existing part-EU funded Business Growth and Grant programme has been re-shaped to also focus on supporting business to adjust, stabilise then aspire for growth.
Are you…
- Looking to invest in new equipment within the next few months
- Ready to join like-minded businesses to explore new markets, products and services; explore new ways to do business and be ready for the new world?
- Prepared to commit 12–15 hours to make this a reality over the next 2-4 months?
Then the free part-EU funded AIM for GOLD Programme could be for you.
What you will get…
- Grant support covering up to 50% of the value of your investment (to a maximum grant value of £25,000)
- Workshops to develop a growth or resilience plan and to complete your grant application
- Peer support from like-minded businesses through our cohort approach
- 121 support from experienced business coaches
For further information and to register click here.
Manufacturing Growth Programme
The Manufacturing Growth Programme is the UK’s largest and leading business support programme making improvements to Manufacturing SMEs.
Since October 2016 the programme has supported more than 2,000 SME manufacturers to grow and create more than 3,200 new jobs through £10.5m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
From April 2019, an additional £11.8m ERDF will be provided to the programme to deliver business growth support across 16 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) regions. As a result, MGP will deliver a further 2,500 improvement projects and create an additional 2,500 new jobs whilst supporting businesses to create new products, open up new markets, become more competitive, and ultimately increasing productivity.
For further information and to register click here.