The council recognises that businesses are currently facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainties as a result of the economic impact that COVID-19 is creating across businesses and homes.
Some of our programmes are continuing to operate during this time.
Ards and North Down Borough Council is continuing to support the local economy and businesses in the Borough through continued delivery of its business activities and engagement.
All council buildings are currently closed to the public, including Signal Centre, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite this the Council continues to provide key business support through it's programmes.
Some programmes are continuing as normal and will be delivered remotely and online ensuring businesses can access and complete programmes safely under the Public Health Agency guidelines.
BT have launched their Small Business Support scheme; introducing a range of new measures to help small business boost their connectivity, cash flow and confidence. Through this scheme BT is:
Tourism Northern Ireland has announced the launch of the Website Development Programme 2020-21. The programme will assist tourism providers to market and sell their experiences through improved web provision given the market pressures within the post COVID environment. It will provide guidance to experience providers to enhance their website and provide financial assistance for necessary improvements thereto, including search engine optimisation, provision of the right content, and the use of the right tactics to capture sales.
Enterprise Nation, supported by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, is offering free advice to small and medium enterprises to help them recover from Coronavirus and the impact it has had on their business. Enterprise Nation is providing free access to the platform, until 31st December 2020, to enable small and medium sized businesses in need of advice and support to connect with business advisers offering to help.
Queen's University has announced their ADAPT4GROWTH Business Support Programme. The programme offers businesses dedicated support to help realign their business models in the face of market disruption.
This free-to-attend 12-week programme will allow NI companies be better placed to anchor employment levels, maintain a competitive position in global markets and increase productivity during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
SERC is recruiting students for a fully funded intensive programme aimed at re-skilling furloughed employees or those whose current roles may be at risk of redundancy.
The Skills Intervention Programme, funded by the Department for Economy, offers the opportunity for candidates to gain a recognised qualification in three pathways, Health and Social Care, Digital Skills and Leadership and Management. The courses, set to commence from 29 June for 8 weeks, are subject to specific eligibility criteria.
Barclays have developed a 'Back to Business' programme in partnership with University of Cambridge, Judge Business School. From your start date, you’ll have two months to access and complete the Back to Business Programme, which should take 15 hours of your time. The programme will help you assess the health of your business and identify how to sustain or grow it during a crisis, with scenarios you can use to see how the pandemic might affect your business in future. The key output will be a resilience plan for your business, which you can continue to test and evolve over time.
NI Direct have put together a list of online training support which includes courses on digital skills, employability and a links to other online resources.
NI Chamber of Commerce have put together a series of webinars called Access the Experts, these webinars cover topics such as Cyber Security, the Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Managing a Remote Workforce.
Preference is given to NI Chamber of Commerce members however some webinars are available to non-members. Please see site for details.
BT have launched their Skills for Tomorrow initiative to help families, businesses and communities across the UK. They have produced a range of webinars for businesses and also a range of courses are available for business owners and employees to learn new skills.
Normally, a positive cash flow is a key indicator of financial health, however, at present, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even the most successful businesses are experiencing extraordinary cash flow pressures. Invest NI have put together this tutorial for businesses.
The Skills Toolkit is made up of free online courses, tools and resources to help you improve your digital and numeracy skills.
There are courses that will give you an introduction to getting confident online to more advanced digital skills for use in the workplace.
Skills Focus is a skills development programme funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE) and delivered across Northern Ireland by the six further education colleges. It aims to help local businesses upskill their staff. The Skills Focus programme is available for SMEs with fewer than 250 employees. Businesses can now access free upskilling for their staff, including those who are furloughed.
PWC have produced a podcast series on COVID-19 and the effects it is having on business. The podcasts cover a range of topics including: navigating lockdown, supply chain management and leading through a crisis.
The AND business team is here to support you.
For further information or if you need help and advice, please get in touch via email or telephone 028 9147 3788.
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