Dear #SubscriberFirstName# #SubscriberLastName#,

June Newsletter

Environmental Business Opportunities Event

7th June at Technology Innovation Centre, Millennium Point

ebns worked with UCE tic, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Midlands Environmental Business Company and Engineering Employer?s Federation to organise this well-attended event.

David Draycott, Executive Director of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry and ebns Board member, gave a short keynote address on ebns? Strategic Investment Plan to Grow the Environmental Business Sector. There are about 145 businesses (including social enterprises) providing environmental goods and services in the Regeneration Zone, employing 4,300 people, which gives a sound base for further growth.

ebns organised an exhibition of environmental business support organisations, which included:

• Groundwork West Midlands EBS
• Envirowise
• The Carbon Trust
• Sustainable Eastside
• B-SEEN
• Environment Agency
• Urban Mines
• WRAP

With around 100 attendees, the exhibition was busy and there was plenty of informal networking. People with new business ideas were actively seeking support. It is now estimated that the environmental sector will be worth over £300 billion by 2010, and the enthusiasm of the many businesses present was evidence that the Midlands is certainly ready to contribute to this market.

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry ran a Speed Networking session which proved to be a high-energy session. It was the first time many had tried this format, and the feedback was very positive, with useful contacts having been made.

The morning session was the launch of the new Environmental Business Opportunities (eBOP) project. This will be delivered by a consortium of seven Midlands universities, led by tic. They will provide technical expertise to assist SMEs in responding to new business opportunities in four areas:

• Flood Defence ? Water Technology
• Waste Management and Recycling
• Small Scale Renewable Energy Technology
• Bio Energy Generation and Bio Fuels

There were also tours of the tic facilities, a software demonstration, some technical presentations by tic experts and access to Thinktank.

If you would like to find out more about ebns? plans for supporting the growth of Environmental Industries please contact Iwona Tempowski, Enterprise Development Manager at i.tempowski@birminghamchamber.org.uk

SIP Consultation Event 20th June, Matthew Boulton College

ebns held a consultation event in order to elicit views from key partners and interested parties on three of our strategic investment plans. The event was attended by colleagues from:

• Birmingham City Council
• Advantage West Midlands
• Moseley Community Development Trust
• Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
• Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Learning and Skills Council
• Eastside City Jobs

Graham Edwards, ebns Chief Executive, gave an introductory presentation to provide the context for the plans which were discussed. Delegates were then divided into small workshop groups and were involved in a discussion on each strategic investment plan, by tackling certain questions provided by ebns.

The plans discussed were:

• Employment Land
• Local Employment Centres
• Skills, Enterprise and Access to Work

Those who attended found the event informative and very relevant to their organisation. We would like to thank everyone who attended for their contribution.

The information discussed at the event will be made available at www.ebns.co.uk in July and will be included in our July newsletter.

Summary of Final Closure Report to AWM for the Excellence in the Community Project

This project, with the help of ebns and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, has established 14 Community Learning Centres in local primary schools. Thirteen of these are managed by schools and the other is managed by a nursery provider.

The main aim of the project is to get people who do not have any qualifications into learning. This works by providing a good contact point for parents/grandparents through crèche provision.

The project also aims to get more people into sustainable rewarding jobs and self-employment. The project also aims to enable more people to get the confidence to set up social enterprises or take part in voluntary activity.

584 local people have benefited from courses at the centres. There is a range and mix of learning opportunities on offer, with an emphasis on getting people with a little/poor experience of formal education on to the ?first rung? of learning. The centres are family-friendly and provide a quality learning environment.

The centres are an integral part of the strategy to regenerate North Solihull. Arrangements to sustain through the transformation of the area and assurances have been given than the centres will continue when schools are rebuilt.

Two key factors that led to the development of the project were the perceived lack of quality learning facilities in North Solihull and the relatively high proportion of adults without formal qualifications and not engaged in learning.

The centres form part of the school and community infrastructure. The voluntary and community sector is taking an increasingly active role using the centres, building up relationships with local schools.

Way Forward Workshop ? Wednesday 19th July

If you are a decision maker, and responsible for project planning and delivery within your organisation, and therefore interested in influencing the Zone?s implementation strategy, this is a key event for you to attend.

ebns are working with Fair Cities and Birmingham City Council to hold this workshop event at Joseph Chamberlain College, from 9.00 am ? 12.30 am. It will be an opportunity to contribute your ideas on how we can best meet the worklessness challenges of the wards of: Nechells, Small Heath, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill and Washwood Heath.

The main aim is to discuss and define:

• The learning points from existing ebns Regeneration Zone employability Good Practice provision in addressing the barriers to getting people into sustainable jobs

• Actions and partnerships for new projects to be considered for commissioning to meet the level 3 / 4 outputs of the Zone?s Implementation Plan (2006-2009)

• How the Zone can best support providers to achieve outputs and outcomes within their existing employment support activities

We are restricting total numbers to 40 people from a cross section of providers, so if you are interested in attending please contact Catherine Field at Catherine.field@ebns.co.uk or on 0121 503 8688

Thank you for your time.

ebns
www.ebns.co.uk