Enterprising Ashfield

PROJECT STATUS: Happening now
REGENERATION STRAND: Succeed in Ashfield

Nottingham Trent University is delivering the Enterprising Ashfield project as part of Ashfield District Council’s successful Towns Fund bid. The project provides businesses with direct access to university expertise and facilities, and support for local residents and employees to enhance their skills. 

Enterprising Ashfield is a four-year programme that started in 2022 that is helping to bridge the skills gap in Ashfield and deliver growth, innovation, and new skills. The programme is estimated to boost the local economy by £19 million over the next 10 years. It is available to businesses, residents, and employees within the Kirkby in Ashfield and Sutton in Ashfield Towns Fund area.

Over the course of the project, Ashfield’s economy will benefit from the establishment of 225 new businesses in the area and almost 300 businesses will grow and increase productivity as a result of the support given. The opportunity to enhance skills through training and courses provided by NTU will be given to 900 Ashfield residents, and 150 graduates will also join businesses bringing their talent and skills to the workforce.


Support available includes:

• Free courses – whether that’s supporting individuals to upskill, boosting their CVs, or running a bespoke course for a group of employees to plug a skills gap
• Start-up grant of £1,000 – one-to-one advice and workshops to help individuals get their new business ideas off the ground
• Growth grant of up to £1,500 – whether you’re a new business looking to develop or an experienced business owner looking to grow further, our one-to-one mentoring and growth grant can help
• Support to innovate – for businesses looking to develop new products or processes, our R&D team can work with you to identify your needs and offer direct access to university expertise and facilities
• Talent grant of up to £2,500 – free advice and support to help attract high calibre applicants and successfully recruit for graduate positions in your business
• Apprenticeships – our team can work with you to upskill your employees to take up higher level skills through our apprenticeship programme.  

For more information, visit Enterprising Ashfield on the Nottingham Trent University website.

Email the team at Nottingham Trent University to learn more about Enterprising Ashfield.

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