Winchester City Council has secured funding to deliver though the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.  These programs can help you to grow your business, boost your digital skills, or make a difference with sustainable practices, take a look at the free projects below:

Business Growth Factory

The Business Growth Factory is open to new entrepreneurs, early-stage start-ups and small businesses in the Winchester district. The programme will provide businesses with crucial skills, such as the ability to identify target markets, effectively manage finances and make successful investment pitches.  There will be a mix of tailored support, expert-led mentoring and hands-on workshops to help participants make the most of the opportunities on offer and make sure they have the tools and insights needed to thrive in competitive marketplaces. 

You can find out more information and apply heading to their website here.

Digital Skills for Residents

The Digital Skills development programme aims to help people of all ages and circumstances overcome challenges they may be facing, build resilience, improve confidence and gain support in developing critical digital skills.

This will include:

• Helping older generations feel more connected to the digital age
• Improving all residents’ lives through enabling access to education, employment and volunteering opportunities
• Supporting the move into higher quality jobs and further training opportunities within the district

The programme with delivered with tailored one-to-one sessions, workshops and Microsoft Office-accredited courses. Residents taking part will use refurbished laptops to build the confidence they need to better understand digital platforms.

For more information click here.

Retrofit Skills

Winchester City Council are providing new training courses for residents, businesses, housebuilders and community groups in the Winchester district, to help them understand how to upgrade homes or premises to make them more energy efficient and climate change friendly – known as retrofitting. The project is being delivered in partnership with Hampshire County Council.

The two, new free courses available are:

• Retrofit 101 – An introductory tailor-made course for anyone wanting to learn about the fundamentals of whole-house domestic retrofit: the principles, best practices, and why it is important. This online course takes just two hours to complete.
• NOCN Level 2 in Understanding Domestic Retrofit is a two-day course to further develop knowledge around retrofit – from creating a warmer, healthier household to saving money and reducing carbon emissions. It will give participants an excellent understanding of the benefits of whole-house retrofit and a foundation for developing specialist skills in the sector. This course can be undertaken online or in person at Basepoint in Winchester.

To find out more about retrofitting and the benefits of training, Hampshire County Council is hosting a drop-in session on Tuesday 12 November between 10am to 12pm in The Arc in Winchester. Alternatively, people can book directly onto one of the two training sessions by emailing skills@hants.gov.uk.