Cambridge Business Networks

Growth in the county has spawned and developed a number of useful networks to assist new and expanding businesses.

Many organisations in the Cambridge area provide support and lobby government to achieve the needs of local businesses:

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind economic growth and regeneration in the six counties of the East of England'. Further information is available in the Regional Economic Strategy (This link will open in a new window)

East of England International delivers UK Trade & Investment services and supports regional businesses seeking to win a share of the global market. They also give free and confidential help to overseas-owned companies setting up or expanding in the UK

The Greater Cambridge Partnership aims to facilitate a balanced framework for the structural, economic, environmental and cultural development of the greater Cambridge sub-region. The draft Sub Regional Economic development Strategy is available to view on their website.

Cambridge Network is an organisation that links together local companies and individuals with common ideas to promote the Cambridge region globally. The focus is on high-tech industry and using the World Wide Web to share ideas and provide information. Members benefit from a range of activities such as a speaker programme, meetings and workshops.

A host of venture capital companies have bases in, and links into, the area. The British Venture Capital Association gives sources of venture capital companies in the UK. A few of those based in the area are listed below:

Business Advice

Cambridgeshire Business Link - Can provide advice on starting up a company and sources of funding. It can also offer training opportunities.

Cambridge Chamber of Commerce - principal objectives are to: Provide a local gateway to the business support resources available through the Cambridgeshire Chambers; Lobby on behalf of local business; Promote events, meetings and seminars; Provide guidance and support to other business support organisations.

HM Revenue & Customs Advice Team - offers a range of free services to help you understand your tax, National Insurance, VAT and International Trade responsibilities and give you the confidence to get it right, first time. Their services are designed for everyone in business, especially newly self-employed and new employers.

Small Business Advice Service - A Government agency that works for UK small businesses, providing both practical advice and information.

Training, Support, and Voluntary Organisations

Cambridge ITEC Limited provides advice, guidance, support and training in a range of occupation areas to young people aged 16 to 24 leading to nationally recognised qualifications. This includes seeking out training placements and employment with local firms and promoting a lifelong learning commitment with both individuals and employers.

Cambridge Jobsearch / Connexions offer free one-to-one guidance sessions to unemployed adults. Cambridge Jobsearch/Connexions objective is the rapid movement of people back into employment or into training. The particular services include careers guidance, CV compilation,interview skills, completing application forms, training needs analysis, motivation and confidence building, counselling and mentoring.

Cambridge Cooperative Development Agency supports the start-up of new co-operative and social economy enterprises, and offers business counselling to those already up and running. Also runs trade fairs, training programmes, and a small loans services to support cooperatives. Training programmes encourage work based learning, and promote business growth in order to provide employment opportunities.

Cambridge Women's Resource Centre (This link will open in a new window) provides information, support and training to women in Cambridgeshire. It assists women of varying abilities to gain basic skills, progress onto further training, and enter the job market, or women returners to update their skills. Offers free onsite child care and appropriate transport to reduce barriers to training. The CWRC also operates a work placement scheme, and support for women searching for employment opportunities. The service is operated from a drop in centre in Cambridge.

The Castle Project aims to provide vocational and rehabilitation opportunities for people with mental illness and to improve their ability to function in work settings. In collaboration with the Richmond Fellowship, the Castle Project offers support in seeking, obtaining and managing further vocational training or suitable employment. The project aims to identify and overcome barriers to the functioning of its clients in the workplace.

Richmond Fellowship is a national organisation that provides support to people with a range of mental health problems throughout England. Richmond Fellowship Cambridge is an employment service for Cambridge city and south Cambridgeshire. It provides support to people recovering from mental health difficulties as they seek to access and maintain suitable employment, volunteering and training opportunities. The service enables clients to match their abilities to work and training opportunities using action planning, personal skills development, psychometrics profiling, work preparation and more.

The GET Group is an umbrella group of some 27 organisations devoted to Guidance, Employment and Training. The group comprises a large number of not-for-profit/voluntary organisations who provide a 'one-stop-shop' approach which maximizes the efficiency of their services to their client groups. Contact: GET Administrator, 34 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HH. Tel: 01223 357297; Fax: 01223 510058

Global Grants is a scheme under the European Social Fund which draws down money from the European Union in proportion to the money contributed by the County and District Councils and the voluntary sector. Grants can be made up to a maximum of £10,000 in any calendar year for the express purpose of promoting 'employability', under the following objectives:

Active labour market policies;
Equal opportunities and promoting social inclusion;
Life-long Learning;
Adaptability and entrepreneurship;
Improving the participation of women in the labour market.

It is a scheme specifically designed to allow smaller groups to access European Union money without going through a cumbersome bureaucratic process. For further information contact Chris Hendry, Global Grants Project Administrator at Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services. (This link will open in a new window)

The Prince's Trust main aim is to enable 18 - 30 year olds who are unemployed or under-employed, and of limited financial