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Regional business support platform, North East Growth Hub, welcomes new Connector

The North East’s leading online business support network, the North East Growth Hub, has strengthened its team of Connectors with the appointment of former International Trade Advisor, Craig Harrison.

Focusing on supporting the region’s creative and digital businesses to scale up through access to finance and funding and business support services, Craig brings a wealth of experience from working and supporting global Fortune 500 companies to local SMEs.

A former International Trade Advisor at Department for International Trade, Craig spent 13 years working in China and Japan for an international logistics and mobility company in a senior strategic sales and marketing role. Upon returning to the UK, he has worked within the creative and digital sector.

Craig said: “My role as a Growth Hub Connector is to provide impartial, one-on-one support to businesses working in the digital, creative and tech sectors, who are looking to grow and scale both domestically and internationally.

“As one of the fastest growing areas of industry in the North East, there are lots of businesses that need help and advice on everything from accessing finance and funding to help them expand, or business support services like mentoring, skills and apprenticeships to strengthen their teams.

“I’m able to help them navigate the wealth of support available in the region and find the right solutions for their business.”

Craig joins two other Growth Hub Connectors who provide a personal service from the online North East Growth Hub. The Growth Hub Connectors offer free support and guidance to businesses of any size and at any stage of growth.

Colin Bell, Business Growth Director at the North East LEP, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Craig to the team and benefit from his many years’ experience supporting and working with businesses, which more recently have been focused in the creative and digital sector. 

“More and more businesses in the North East are turning to the North East Growth Hub for advice on topics including exporting, procurement and Brexit. Craig’s experience of working internationally and helping companies to export will be vital as we prepare to the leave the European Union.”

For more information about Growth Hub Connect and to speak to one of the Growth Hub Connectors, visit www.northeastgrowthhub.co.uk or call 0191 561 5468.

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Growth Hub Live launches free leadership event in partnership with durhamlane

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP’s) popular series of Growth Hub Live events continues in July with ‘Leading at a Higher Level’, held in partnership with top sales and leadership development specialists, durhamlane.

Taking place at The Toffee Factory, Newcastle, on Friday 7 July, the event focuses on developing strong leadership and how it can support businesses to scale-up, innovate and win new business.

Alison Freer, Director of Consulting, Learning & Digital Transformation at durhamlane, will lead the half day workshop with support from colleague Luke Robinson, Senior Sales Trainer and Coach at durhamlane.

Alison said: “We’ve developed a methodology and a toolkit for good leadership that, when implemented, supports businesses to grow and instill a positive culture within its team.

“We’re delighted to be working with the North East LEP and Growth Hub Live to give North East companies insight into how they can increase sales, profits and revenues.”

Colin Bell, Business Growth Director at the North East LEP, said: “To scale up businesses need great leadership that inspires people and aligns collective energy and resource towards the achievement of their vision and goals. Equally as businesses grow more and more issues that leaders face become people related.

“To tackle these issues and to get people behind the plan, leaders have to make the transition from working ‘in’ to working ‘on’ their business.  The workshop and methodology developed by durhamlane will equip leaders with the tools and insight required to make that shift.”

Growth Hub Live’s ‘Leading at a Higher Level’, in partnership with durhamlane, takes place at The Toffee Factory, Newcastle, on Friday 7 July.

For more information about the North East Growth Hub and future Growth Hub Live events, visit www.northeastgrowthhub.co.uk

For more information about durhamlane, visit www.durhamlane.com

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Scale-up support on offer to SMEs at Growth Hub Goes Live event

Business owners and SMEs in the North East are invited to attend the latest in a new series of events supporting the region’s businesses to scale up.

Part of our ‘Growth Hub Goes Live’ programme, the event on Thursday 23 March will focus on growing, retaining and maintaining customers using digital technology.

The practical, hands on event at the SME Centre of Excellence, at Newcastle College, will include group work, idea sharing and a keynote address by Nevil Tynemouth and Mike Lever, directors of New Results Training in Durham. New Results provide training, coaching, mentoring and strategic support for a range of companies locally and nationally,

“We’ll be exploring how to use, grow and manage digital technology and how it can be of huge benefit to companies,” explained New Results Director Nevil Tynemouth.

“The aim is to help the companies integrate digital technology seamlessly into their businesses, so that it becomes an everyday activity. The workshop will involve a keynote talk and then some group work with myself and fellow New Results Director Mike Lever. We’ll leave the businesses with some key actions which will help them integrate digital technology into their companies.

“With such flexible and powerful technologies around, it’s vital they’re not overlooked when planning business growth. This event is about understanding how digital technology can support and add value to existing sales practices and create stronger links with customers,” added Nevil.

Growth Hub Goes Live is an events programme delivered as part of the North East Growth Hub (www.northeastgrowthhub.co.uk), an online business growth platform for SMEs created and managed by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.

business growth boardColin Bell, Business Growth Director at the North East LEP said: “While the Growth Hub is predominantly an online platform, we recognise the demand from our users for networking opportunities and the chance to hear from business leaders in the region.

“Growth Hub Goes Live is a fantastic way for people to experience what the Growth Hub can offer, everything from access to finance and funding to one the most comprehensive business support directories available in the North East.”

‘Growing, Retaining and Maintaining customers using digital technology’ takes place on Thursday 23 March at the SME Centre for Excellence. Tickets are free and can be booked via Eventbrite.

New Results have previously delivered similar workshops in London and in Lancashire, but this will be the first session they’ve delivered in the region.

New Results Training has more than 75 years of experience in coaching and training and delivers sales training locally, nationally and internationally. The company is based in the e-volve Business Centre at Rainton Bridge, Houghton-le-Spring.

Book your free place for the event now

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North East Growth Hub contract opportunity

The North East LEP is seeking to appoint a company to develop and deliver a Manufacturing Advisory Programme (MAP) as part of the North East Growth Hub.

The MAP will provide a targeted one-to-one diagnostic, signposting and action planning service to manufacturing businesses that have:

• Growth potential (hold the aspiration to significantly scale their business – upwards of 20% employee or turnover growth per annum).

• Fall within one of the North East’s areas of ‘smart specialisation‘.

We are seeking a partner who can leverage and build on the North East LEP’s investment to expand the impact of the MAP.

The quotation document, along with a detailed service specification of our requirements and accompanying documents can be accessed via the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) portal here.

Please note, companies must be registered on the NEPO portal in order to access the documentation. Once registration has been accepted, applicants will then need to return to the opportunity on the portal, login and register interest in this contract in order to access the documentation.

Submissions must be returned via the NEPO portal before 12:00 noon on Friday 15 April 2016.

Please note that submissions will not be accepted in either hard copy or e-mail. All completed submissions must be submitted electronically via the NEPO e-tender system portal.

For further information please contact Virginia Ainsley, Procurement Category Officer – [email protected].