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News and information for West Oxfordshire’s businesses - 10 Sep 21


It has been great to see a semblance of normality return over the summer. Hospitality businesses have re-opened, festivals and events have taken place and new businesses have opened.

New additions include the Part and Parcel pub and Dodo Works workspace in Witney's old Post Office, Quality Discounts in Chipping Norton and the Woodstock Grocer, complementing the excellent Woodstock Butcher.  We welcome these and other new businesses to our towns.

However, we are under no illusion that businesses are still facing great challenges and we are here to help in any way we can. Our Love West Oxfordshire campaign with LoyalFree is working well with over 1000 deals having been claimed. It is proving a great way for businesses to promote themselves and we encourage all retail and hospitality businesses to try the scheme. Please email us at business@westoxon.gov.uk to get involved.
Find out how LoyalFree works

Recruitment fair in Witney 

As the economy begins to open up and coronavirus restrictions are being lifted, Oxfordshire Jobcentre Plus is helping local employers to recruit staff for their businesses.

Oxfordshire Jobcentre Plus is hosting a mini Job Fair (with a particular focus on filling Kickstart roles) at the Corn Exchange in Witney on 16 September 2021. There are still a few spots left for businesses interested in taking part - they should contact Jobcentre Plus ASAP using a link below. 
Witney Job Fair

Women in Innovation Awards 2021 to 2022

Innovate UK is offering grants of £50,000 and bespoke business support to at least 20 female entrepreneurs across the UK. The awards are for female founders, co-founders or senior decision makers working in businesses that have been operating for at least one year and are likely to be women with exciting, innovative ideas and ambitious plans that will inspire others.

The deadline for applying is Wednesday 13 October. 
Women in Innovation Awards

New co-working space in Witney

If you enjoyed the flexibility of working from home but want a bit more social interaction, Dodo Works is a new co-working space situated above the Part and Parcel pub in Witney town centre.  It has both single desks on a pre-booked basis and meeting room spaces available. It is open on a flexible basis from 7.30am - 11pm.
Dodo Works co-working space

Engineering apprenticeships

Oxfordshire Advanced Skills (OAS) has launched an apprenticeship programme which provides training on the very latest cutting-edge technology as well as traditional engineering skills at its brand new training centre UKAEA Culham. OAS has access to a £1million annual fund to help Oxfordshire businesses find and fund the best engineering apprentices. Further details below. 
OAS engineering apprenticeship programme

Trading with the EU - support for businesses

The government is running a series of webinars about trading with the EU. The webinars provide practical details including the procedures and systems at the borders and detail about the new import requirements in Great Britain. The sessions will be of interest to all trading businesses as well as those in the supply chain, traders, hauliers, intermediaries and trade associations.  

In addition, the Brexit Checker tool gives a personalised list of the actions that businesses need to take.
Trading with the EU - Webinars

Other helpful organisations

Several business groups are coming up trumps with help and advice for businesses. The ones below are good but do also check the trade association for your own sector.
  • Cotswolds Tourism - useful information on everything regarding tourism in the Cotswolds
  • Enterprise Nation - a vibrant community of small businesses and business advisers with a website packed full of resources
  • Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) - the UK’s largest grassroots business campaigning group
  • OSEP CIC - supports social entrepreneurs, social enterprises, enterprising charities and purposeful business across Oxfordshire
  • Prince's Trust - useful advice, guidance and resources targeted at young entrepreneurs under the age of 30.
  • Institute of Directors (IoD) - business organisation for company directors
  • Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) - represents the UK's self-employed including freelancers, interim managers, consultants and contractors 
  • UK Hospitality - represents the broad hospitality sector – covering everything from bars, coffee shops, contract catering, hotels, nightclubs, visitor attractions and other leisure venues
  • Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) - Growth hub for Oxfordshire
  • MD2MD - helps managing directors compare notes on business MD to MD. Now operating online with a free trial period for qualifying business leaders.

Keeping up to date

Please forward this email to others to whom this might be useful and encourage them to sign up to further updates. 
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We hope you found this newsletter useful. We would like them to be as relevant as possible so please let us know what you think and don’t forget to send us your news to business@westoxon.gov.uk
 
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