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Face to face support for Welsh businesses

17 Feb 2009 04:36 PM
A new series of seminars will be held throughout Wales to highlight the wide range of support business can get in fighting the current recession.

The seminars – entitled ‘Weathering the Storm’ – will inform those taking part of recently announced UK-wide schemes as well as support measures available only in Wales.

They will kick off in Llandudno on 30 March and sessions will also take place in Aberystwyth, Newtown, Swansea and Cardiff.

The aim is to ensure grass-roots businesses in every part of Wales get the maximum possible support during the recession and are able to emerge from it in a healthy position, said Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones.

Mr Jones, who is Minister for the Economy and Transport, said:

In these difficult times, it is vital that businesses get up to the minute information on all the support services available.

During the last fortnight we have published two new guides for employers and workers, as well as dedicating part of our website to our work in leading Wales out of recession.

But there is nothing like face-to-face contact – and these seminars will provide an opportunity for our business community to meet people who can give them expert advice.

Business advice is especially important in Wales because the Welsh Assembly Government has pushed forward with new anti-recession initiatives alongside measures available elsewhere in the UK, the Minister said.

For example, the ProAct programme pioneers support for quality training in workplaces where redundancies are threatened – enabling jobs to be saved by part-time working while at the same time driving up skills, he said.

Our Single Investment Fund can also help people launch their own enterprise – and assist businesses of all sizes with expansion, modernisation and developing new products and processes.

Each event include a keynote speaker, three workshops on specific subjects, a question and answer session,  and a knowledge fair where key stakeholders including employer‘s organisations, banks and local authorities will be invited to exhibit their support services alongside those of the Welsh Assembly Government. 

Details of how to apply can be obtained from the Welsh Assembly Government’s Flexible Support for Business (FS4B) contact centre 03000 6 03000, website www.business-support-wales.gov.uk

Related Links

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/businessandeconomy/recession/?lang=en