Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council launches £100k workforce development grant scheme to help small businesses train their employees

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has launched a new fund for small businesses to invest in their workforces’ training and development.

The Basingstoke and Deane workforce development grant scheme will give small and medium-sized local businesses the opportunity to help employees develop the skills they need to support their businesses to grow.

Eligible businesses can apply for grants of up to £3,500 from the £100,000 fund to cover training costs such as technical courses and exam registration for the skills it can demonstrate it needs to grow and succeed.

The funding however cannot be used to cover membership or subscription fees or mandatory training costs, such as health and safety training.

This new fund builds upon the council’s apprenticeship business fund, which supports businesses with the recruitment of new apprentices through a grant of £5,000 per apprentice.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council leader Paul Harvey said: “We are pleased to launch this new fund to help our borough’s small businesses to support their employees by investing in their professional development.

“We know small businesses are the foundation of our local economy, and recruitment and retention is a critical issue.

“Ongoing continuous professional and skills development can make a significant difference to business success.”

Before applying for funding, businesses will need to contact ukspf@basingstoke.gov.uk to talk with the council’s funding team to confirm that the business is eligible, discuss their proposal and ask any questions.

More information on the scheme and application process can be found on the council’s website at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/workforce-development-grant-scheme

The workforce development grant scheme will be open for applications until Saturday, November 30.