Thousands continue to turn to recession web pages
Web pages launched at the start of this year to give advice and guidance on recession issues are continuing to attract thousands of visitors.
In April the recession pages on the Warwickshire County Council website (http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/recession) were viewed 5,691 times.
This follows a huge surge in interest in the new pages in February when the pages were viewed almost 7,000 times.
The pages were launched by Warwickshire County Council to reassure local people and to provide assistance and advice during the recession.
The recession advice pages viewed can be further broken down as follows:
January February March April
Recession Advice Home Page 1,621 4,592 4,169 3,894
Recession Advice - Business 234 487 407 425
Recession Advice - Employment 110 450 485 378
Recession Advice - Family 42 258 215 222
Recession Advice - Housing 55 300 206 250
Recession Advice - Local Support 62 278 228 218
Recession Advice - Money 115 598 308 304
The website includes a wide range of activity being undertaken by the county council to help support jobs in Warwickshire. Below are just a few examples of what is available, whether in business or facing unemployment:-
Help for business includes:
WIPS (Warwickshire Investment Partnerships) engages with many businesses that are expanding in Warwickshire. Even with the economic downturn, we are still dealing with companies who need to find space to grow and take on more staff. Increasingly we are also helping existing companies who are struggling with reduced order books – but even then we can help them to find more suitable, smaller premises - and so safeguard many jobs.
We are in touch with many small businesses who are struggling due to lack of finance or orders. While our Business Support Team signpost most enquiries to Business Link, we can offer initial advice and additional services including access to small business loans, help with reducing energy and waste costs, advice on web marketing and support to those wanting to start up a new business.
The county council is a national pilot for Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) – which now cover some of our town centres. Leamington Spa is the latest shopping centre to sign up, and saw sales hold up well this Christmas despite gloom elsewhere in the retail sector.
Help into jobs:
Many people finding themselves out-of-work may consider setting up their own business. For those thinking about taking that step, the county council has its own Business Centres on short-term and flexible terms. This is great for those who can’t raise finance to commit to traditional leases up-front. They have proved very popular over the years, and we now have some units available for immediate occupation.
The county has a “Skills for Jobs” team, which helps those who have been out-of-work for a while, but want to get new skills and back into employment. There is also a new Employment Officer Team (based in Nuneaton) working closely with JobCentrePlus to help those facing redundancy.