Our support and events
We want you to know that, first and foremost, we are here for you - the Oxfordshire business community.
Our business support and events schedule is designed to help you and is particularly important at this critical time. We have new support programmes and a number of existing programmes we feel can support our business community both during and after the Coronavirus pandemic.
Events:
We have moved our own business support events to online platforms to ensure that we can provide you with the guidance that you need.
We are holding regular digital Q&As, aimed at supporting our business community through the COVID-19 pandemic. Take a look at our most-recent Q&As:
21 May: ‘What impact will Coronavirus have on our rural economy?’
14 May: ‘What impact has Coronavirus had on Oxfordshire’s workforce?’
7 May: ‘How can Oxfordshire’s visitor economy recover from the Coronavirus pandemic?’
30 April: ‘Supporting businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic’
Head to our events section to find out more on future Q&As
We also have an ongoing programme of business support workshops delivered by our OxLEP Business team - this includes workshops in; business strategy, leadership, crowdfunding, as well as a series of grant workshops for our eScalate and Innovation Support for Business programmes.
Take a look at our full-list of events
Business support:
We have a number of support programmes in-place which you and your business may wish to consider.
Coronavirus-specific support:
COVID-19 Business Resilience Fund:
In response to the unprecedented challenges that Oxfordshire’s small businesses are facing as a result of COVID-19, we are repurposing funding to create a business resilience fund, designed to support Oxfordshire businesses to survive and thrive.
Through a competitive process, this programme provides eligible businesses with unmatched grants ranging from £1,000 to £10,000.
Please note, this fund is currently closed (as of Friday 5 June 2020). Please continue to revisit for further updates.
COVID-19 business support programme:
Our main aim is to support businesses who are facing unprecedented challenges brought about by Coronavirus, with our OxLEP Business team moving quickly to provide critical one-to-one; one-to-many and peer-to-peer support that complements existing national offers and government Coronavirus advice.
This support includes guidance on:
- Business resilience
- Cash flow
- Cost reductions
- Diversification
Businesses can find out more on the available support by contacting: business@oxfordshirelep.com
DOWNLOAD: Supporting your business through COVID-19
Regional redeployment service:
OxLEP Skills is working with partners to create the Oxfordshire Redeployment Service. This service will match those recently made redundant with new work in sectors experiencing a surge in employment demand. Sectors include:
- Food retail
- Social care
- Logistics and distribution
The service also engages with employers needing to make redundancies to ensure a smooth transition for employees into new work. This information is for all businesses and employers across Oxfordshire who are having to make changes to their workforce as a result of Coronavirus.
If you have or will be making employees redundant:
If you have already made employees redundant or are in process / likely to be having to make redundancies – up to five, please refer those individuals for direct support to Adviza, the National Careers Service provider for Oxfordshire. Please either email: Info@advisa.org.uk or head to the Adviza website:
Regional Reployment Service from Adviza
If you are planning to make larger-scale redundancies (five or more), additional support is also available for you as an employer and your employees; please email: Info@adviza.org.uk and outline the following information:
- Notification of redundancies at scale
- Number of job roles affected
- The last day of work for affected individuals (if known)
If you need an initial discussion or have a direct enquiry: please contact Maninder Hayre at Adviza.
For general guidance and links to further information on redundancy for both employers and employees, head to the Government website:
Guidance on finding work, claiming benefits and advice about pensions if you’re made redundant
If you are looking to recruit:
If you are seeking to fill urgent vacancies, short or long term, to meet changes to your business, we can help connect you with immediately available individuals. Please register your vacancies with Adviza:
- Email: info@adviza.org.uk
- Call: 0800 100 900
Please have the following information available when registering your vacancies:
- Nature of work
- Number of vacancies (can be an approximate)
- Necessary or desirable skills requirement
- Location of vacancies
You can also find a list of current job vacancies via the following links:
Care sector: Oxfordshire Assocation of Care Providers
Department for Work and Pensions
Download a list of companies currently recruiting nationally
Existing programmes:
eScalate
The eScalate programme supports growing businesses that have scale-up potential. It also supports SMEs that are social enterprise, social entrepreneurs, enterprising charities and other purposeful businesses committed to enabling positive social and environmental impact.
Innovation Support for Business (ISfB):
ISfB is a programme designed to drive and commercialise the innovative business ideas of Oxfordshire's SMEs and entrepreneurs.
Skills for Business:
Skills for Business provides practical support to small to medium-sized businesses to identify and evaluate their skills and learning needs including upskilling current staff.
How our business support programmes can help you:
eScalate: Find out how OxLEP Business can help your growing business.
