Training Organisation Refurbishes ts Offices Thanks To Grant

A training organisation was quick off the starting blocks to recruit new staff after extending their offices in Coventry.

The SCCU Group provides Apprenticeships, Traineeships and Commercial Training across education and other sectors.

After deciding to refurbish and extend its current office in Harry Weston Road, Binley, operations director James Pease contacted Adam Plumb at the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub to enquire about grants.

He put James in touch with Coventry City Council and he was successful in his application for a £25,000 grant through the Coventry and Warwickshire Business Support Programme, which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The grant assisted towards the investment of £85,000 for the extension and refurbishment project to take place which includes the new technical software and hardware, furniture and air conditioning along with LED lighting.

Six more staff numbers are to be added to the 35-strong company as new contracts continue to be won.

James said its offices needed to be improved to accommodate new colleagues.

“We have been growing over the last few years and everything is well positioned for further growth,” he said.

“There are a number of government incentives around apprenticeships and upskilling staff and we have developed our programme over the last few years to now offer up to 35 different types of apprenticeships.

“We have secured £1.3 million of funding to deliver traineeships until July 2023 from the Education and Skills Funding Agency to support work placements across both school and business settings.

“I think more and more companies are aware of the apprenticeships available for existing members of staff to upskill or for new members of staff so that they can grow their own workforce in a cost-effective way and teach them the skills they need.”

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change at Coventry City Council and a Board Member of the CWLEP, said: “It’s great to see another local company thriving, taking on new staff and creating new jobs.

“Often all small innovative local companies like the SCCU Group need is a small boost of cash to take that next step and that is exactly what the Coventry and Warwickshire Business Support Programme is about.”

Adam Plumb, an Account Manager at the CWLEP Growth Hub, said it was great SCCU was adding to its workforce in its new-look offices.

“The business focuses on supporting the professional development of organisations and that is exactly the road James and his team has gone on over the last few months,” he said.

“SCCU has secured a large contract with the ESFA and their smart modern offices will help them to meet the needs of this new work.

“This will help their own workforce to develop and grow even further to continue to develop the training courses and apprenticeships which suit a wide range of businesses.”

Caption: From the left, Cllr Jim O’Boyle (Coventry City Council and CWLEP), Adam Plumb (CWLEP Growth Hub), Scott Riddell (SCCU Group), Kierandeep Bal (Coventry City Council) and James Pease (SCCU Group) at the newly-refurbished offices at the SCCU Group

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