Business and Economy

Hampshire Business Conference Updates

  The Hampshire Business Conference, organised by Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Economic Partnership, took place on Wednesday 12 October 2011 at Ashburton Hall, Winchester.

The Conference presented the latest research about the Hampshire economy and gave delegates the opportunity to influence and inform the Hampshire Economic Strategy through a series of themed workshops.

The action points from the workshop notes are now being considered in the forward planning of Hampshire County Council.

We hope to regularly update you on progress in each of the theme areas and we are, as always, open to additional suggestions so please do get in touch by email to economic.development@hants.gov.uk if you have any comments. Please see below two key points taken from each workshop area and a brief update on how these are progressing.


Procurement

Simplification of procurement processes, particularly PQQs

This has formally launched within the County Council. The questionnaire, supplier guidance, evaluation model and supporting templates have been mandated for use across the Council for all new procurement projects. The questionnaire and guidance has been developed based on the OGC template in consultation with representatives the Federation of Small Business and Hampshire Voluntary Sector Consortium. The Council has also worked closely with it's Hampshire district and unitary authority colleagues with a view to potentially implementing the standard template across the County.

More training on procurement and direct access to buyers

Hampshire County Council holds regular training events for businesses wanting to find out more about how to supply to the County Council, to be added to the mailing list for these events please contact Alison Riley by email to alison.riley@hants.gov.uk

The South Hampshire Meet the Buyer event will take place on 29 February 2012 at the Rose Bowl, Southampton providing businesses with access to 25 public and private sector buyers and pre-event training.

The first Hampshire County Council 'Supplier Surgery' is being planned for Autumn 2012, this event will provide suppliers with the opportunity to meet with the appropriate Procurement/Service Managers from across the Council to pitch their innovative ideas and promote what their organisations have to offer the Council.


Inward Investment

Clear marketing messages and branding to create an international reputation

  The marketing strategy for Invest in Hampshire for 2012 now includes social networking including the creation of online communities, an investment guide for the county, presence at the Farnborough Airshow, a Southampton Airport advertising campaign welcoming visitors and businesses in 2012 and a new investment video to promote the county outside of Hampshire.

Access to supply chain information and a suite of available sites

The mapping software used in Stuart Jarvis' presentation at the Conference is now being used to create an online and interactive Hampshire business map to show business parks and sites across the county.  This will also be summarised in the investment guide.  


Skills & Employment

Enterprise in education  - the need to make sure employees are work-ready and the need for business skills to be taught.

  Schools work closely with local authorities and Education Business Partnerships (EBPs)* to ensure that their pupils receive access to work-related activities. Through engagement with their local EBP, local businesses can raise the profile of their sector, as well as raising the skills levels of the local community. This can be done a range of methods including business taster days, work experience, mentoring, professional development placements for teachers and enterprise days.

* Education Business Partnerships in Hampshire are listed as follows:-

  • Basingstoke Consortium (Basingstoke and Deane area)
  • First Partnership (Rushmoor, Hart, Andover & District and East Hampshire)
  • Portsmouth & South East Hampshire Education Business Partnership (South East Hampshire including Portsmouth)
  • Solent EBP (South West Hampshire, including Southampton and Winchester)  

More business engagement on skills needs

Hampshire County Council has recently conducted a skills audit of the skills needs of businesses in Hampshire. Once fully analysed, this will be used to inform future provision of training and education. It is also worth noting that colleges and other FE/HE providers in the county are also keen to engage with businesses so they can develop courses to meet local business needs. If you have a specific business need, please get in touch with your local college to discuss it.

Youth unemployment and apprenticeships

Hampshire County Council is keen to see that young unemployed adults have access to as many opportunities as possible; an apprenticeship can be a stable route to a lasting career for many young people. As well as encouraging young people to consider apprenticeships as an option, the County Council have taken steps to make sure the most disadvantaged young people have a good start on the employment ladder through a scheme which provides work-based training and employment for young people leaving local authority care. Internships Plus is part of the County Council's wider programme to help young people find employment and sits alongside the Council's current apprenticeship and work experience schemes.

Apprenticeships are designed by the Sector Skills Councils, while the National Apprenticeship Service helps to fund the training (funding varies according to the age of the apprentice.) Business representatives from the relevant industry sector work with the various Sector Skills Councils to develop the course content; accordingly, because they understand your business, the training will be relevant for your industry. Over 80% of those employers who employ apprentices agree they make their workplace more productive and 92% believe that apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce. Also, because Apprenticeships are based in the workplace, employers get the skills they really need.


Third Sector

Stronger real partnerships with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)

Hampshire County Council held it's second Doing Business with Hampshire event on 15 November specifically aimed at Small Businesses and Community and Voluntary Organisations, 100 organisations attended from across the county to find out how they can work with the County Council.

Community Action Hampshire is keen to hear from private sector companies looking to develop partnerships with voluntary organisations.

Changing the perceptions of CSOs for the public and private sectors

Hampshire County Council would be interested to hear how we can work with CSOs to improve these perceptions, please contact us by emailing economic.development@hants.gov.uk with your thoughts about how we can work with you to improve this.


Transport

Faster and better communicated maintenance and improvements

  The Hampshire County Council twitter feed @hantsconnect has over 4,000 followers.  Updates include highways maintenance information and announcements on public transport improvements, such as funding for projects or capital schemes.  

More travel information

Hampshire County Council has developed a Transport Self-help Kit to help local communities take a more active role in organising community transport to meet the needs of their residents.

ROMANSE, a partnership between Hampshire County Council and Southampton and Portsmouth City Councils, aims to influence travel behaviour by the provision of up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information. The service now has new Twitter and Facebook pages offering the latest traffic and travel news.


Tourism

Olympics campaign and marketing of Hampshire

Visit Hampshire, Hampshire's official tourism website, will feature a unique selection of inspirational images from January featuring iconic locations in the county alongside talented young sportsmen and artists from Hampshire. A promotional film to showcase Hampshire to visitors will also be launched, all part of the County Council's overall strategy to promote the county in 2012.

More information about Hampshire's 2012 Olympic-inspired events and activities can be found on the Hampshire 2012 website, and join the Hampshire 2012 LinkedIn Group to receive updates about 2012 related business opportunities.

Public transport improvement and simplified planning

Hampshire County Council needs to ensure that visitors as well as residents are considered in transport planning.  The County Council no longer has a strategic planning responsibility but can lobby district and unitary planning authorities to be more positive towards tourism planning applications, especially in rural areas.  


Rural Economy

Broadband  

  Earlier this year over £8 million was set aside to deliver superfast broadband to rural and hard to reach areas in Hampshire, including Portsmouth and Southampton, and the Isle of Wight.

Now that Hampshire County Council knows how much money has been set aside for our area, we are now working with BDUK, suppliers and others to further develop our delivery plans in order to secure our share. For further information visit the Superfast Broadband webpages.

Training, especially in sales and marketing

Hampshire County Council is now considering how sales and marketing training can be incorporated into existing events for rural businesses in 2012.