Enterprising Burton
The West Midlands regional winner of the Enterprising Britain 2006 competition was Enterprising Burton.
Enterprising Burton was recognised for its success in creating an all-inclusive strategy for enterprise. Enterprising Burton has successfully encouraged and supported people to develop their business ideas, stimulating an entrepreneurial culture in Burton.
Burton has been badly hit by unemployment, due to its industries falling into decline in the early 1990s. As a result, significant pockets of deprivation containing high unemployment, high youth unemployment, low skills attainment and high crime came to exist in Burton. At the time of the millennium, there was a strong feeling amongst residents and experts that the town was in permanent decline and had little prospect of achieving economic growth. It was obvious that things had to change.
To overcome these problems, the team behind Enterprising Burton have worked together to re-build and diversify the town's economy. Their aim has been to create conditions whereby the entrepreneurial spirit of new and expanding business can be nurtured thereby encouraging economic growth. Over time a number of initiatives have been created to provide 'cradle to grave' assistance to entrepreneurs within Burton, to ensure that Burton is the place to start and grow a new business.
Enterprising Burton has managed to turn Burton into a place that supports and encourages new businesses through a number of initiatives: principally delivered by local enterprise agency Business Enterprise Support which runs the Burton Entrepreneurs programme; deployment of outreach workers in communities; Community engagement events; Business Start Up Loans and Student Apprentice in Enterprise programmes
The primary delivery agent, Business Enterprise Support, boasts over 20 years of experience in the enterprise field. Business Enterprise Support has managed to use knowledge and experience to promote enterprise and self-employment in Burton, and many new programmes have been introduced in the most deprived areas of Burton over the last five years thanks to the programme's support. Key to the success of Business Enterprise Support has been improving education, employability and access to jobs by developing targeted programmes to connect local people to new economic opportunities.
The Burton Entrepreneurs programme has been a vital initiative, promoting self-employment by running a variety of activities such as workshops and seminars in the community. These activities provide advice on business planning and securing finance as well as offering mentoring and alerting the community to the initiatives available to them.
A particular innovation of Enterprising Burton has been the implementation of outreach workers. The outreach workers offer support within the community, particularly to those in disadvantaged groups such as the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) population, young people, the disabled, lone parents and women returning to work. These groups are the most vulnerable in society and are often excluded from accessing employment and training opportunities - moreover, members of these groups often lack the confidence to start their own business.
Outreach workers have managed to develop a relationship with many members of the community, helping them to build their confidence and encourage them to participate in training and counselling. Furthermore, a Business Start Up Loan has been set up and offers low cost short-term loans to high-risk individuals, who traditionally cannot access finance from conventional lenders. It also offers intensive financial support to newly formed businesses, ensuring survival and growth.
The work of these outreach workers has been complimented with Community Engagement events, which have been held within well-used community venues to encourage people mainly from the Asian community to consider self-employment. The workshops have focused on helping participants to understand how to develop their business idea through the demonstration of relevant tools and techniques.
Building strong links with the educational establishment is another way that Enterprising Burton has managed to stimulate and encourage an entrepreneurial culture in Burton. The Student Apprentice in Enterprise programme has been developed for delivery in schools to integrate enterprise into the school curriculum. The Student Apprentice in Enterprise programme encourages students at key stage 4, 14-16 year olds, to think in a more entrepreneurial way in order to develop a better understanding of how businesses work. Much of the work in the Student Apprentice in Enterprise programme is done out of the school environment and students attend practical workshops and shadow a business person one day a week for a three month period.
Enterprise Burton has also been proactive in developing a range of support activities to develop and encourage the growth of social and community enterprises, which are recognised as an important contributor to the town's economy. Business Enterprise Support has responded to the unique needs of Social Enterprise through the deployment of specialise advisers, who understand the different aspects of setting up a social or community enterprise.
Furthermore, East Staffordshire Borough Council has worked with Business Enterprise Support and Community Action and Support for East Staffordshire to deliver Community Economic Development and Regeneration (CEDAR) project in the most deprived wards of Burton over the last three years. The aim of the project has been to create financially viable social businesses that can meet their clearly defined social aims and objectives. This has been achieved by encouraging clients to attend a series of specially designed workshops and tailored counselling support. The results of the project have been encouraging and 62 organisations are now supported through CEDAR.
Through its various projects, Enterprising Burton has achieved transformational results. This is evidenced by the fact that the town has enjoyed growth in employment of around 20 per cent since 1998, a far higher growth than in other parts of the region. The Burton Entrepreneurs programme has facilitated 250 new start-ups, with over 70 per cent of these still trading at two years, well above the usual survival rates. Moreover, it has helped over 75 businesses start up which are run by members of the BME communities within the deprived wards of Burton. The people of Burton now have the means to start, run and maintain a new business
Judith Kirkland, Operations Director of Business Enterprise Support Limited, sums it up best:
"Our success in the Enterprising Britain 2006 competition reflects our achievements encouraging enterprise over the past two years. The increase in entrepreneurial activity is living proof of the quality, support and encouragement that Enterprising Burton provides to their community. We're delighted to have been chosen as the West Midlands regional winner."