Job Fairs are a great opportunity to speak directly to job seekers, giving you a chance to break down any barriers or myths people may think about your sector or the jobs on offer. 

The last job fair in Market Harborough, on Thursday 28 July 2022, attracted 273 job seekers and resulted in almost 50 on the spot job offers! 

Get in touch to secure your space at our future job fairs:

Lutterworth Job Fair - Friday 2 September 2022
When: 11am - 2pm
where: Wycliffe Rooms, George Street, Lutterworth, LE17 4ED

Harborough Job Fair - Thursday 15 September 2022
When: 11am - 2pm 
Where: The Symington Building, Adam & Eve Street, Market Harborough, LE16 7AG 

Email: business@harborough.gov.uk 

Places will be first come first served, but local demand and a variation of sectors will be considered when confirming employer spaces. 

Apply for a grant of up to £5000 to help your business before the 31 August 2022 deadline.

The grant can be used for most purposes but you must specify what the grant will be used for when you apply, however you cannot use it for rent/mortgage or salary costs. 

To be eligible for consideration for a grant for business purposes you / your business must be:

• over 18 and under 45 years of age
• resident in Leicestershire or Rutland and operating your business from within this area running your business currently, and have been doing so for at least 1+ year
• able to demonstrate a real need for the grant and the positive impact receiving it will have on your business
• a sole trader, partnership or limited company (the scheme is unable to accept applications from registered charities or CICs) 

They are unable to accept applications from any individual / business which was successful in receiving a grant from them in 2021. 

Businesses with 1-249 employees can now access a discount of up to £5,000 on eCommerce solutions to supercharge their sales and tap into new markets with Help To Grow: Digital.

Help to Grow: Digital is a government backed, UK-wide scheme that supports eligible SMEs to choose, buy and integrate software into their business. 

Through the scheme you can access:

• Funding to help buy new software. Receive a discount of up to 50% or £5,000 (excluding VAT) towards the cost of buying one approved software in the Help to Grow: Digital scheme.
• Free, impartial advice and guidance.

The Help to Grow: Discount is currently available from approved suppliers of the following software types:

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Digital Accounting
• eCommerce

The iNet’s support programmes SPRING and PROSPER have been extended and the maximum spend has been increased! The programmes are managaed by the iNet and based at Loughborough University and are part-funded by ERDF.

For both programmes, businesses must be based in Leicester & Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnership area (LLEP) and engaged in the general area of one of LLEP’s priority sectors:

• Advanced manufacturing and engineering
• Creative Industries
• Food and drink manufacturing
• Life Sciences – Health and Medical Technologies
• Low carbon technologies
• Logistics and distribution
• Professional Services – Scientific and Technical sub-sectors
• Space and Space enabled Technologies
• Textile Manufacturing

Supporting Productivity Innovation & Growth (SPRING)
The SPRING programme helps 'SMEs seeking to increase their capacity and capability by delivering intensive and higher value interventions that support growth and productivity improvement measures'. This will run until December 2022.

The support includes a mixture of:

• An information, diagnostic and brokerage review
• Part-funding to attend trade fairs through our ‘exhibitor package’
• Up to 2 days market/technology growth opportunity research
• Part-funding (grant) towards external costs of investments in enhanced capabilities and new technologies including equipment required to take new products, processes and services from early development to production.

PROmoting SME Product Enhancement and Research (PROSPER)
The PROSPER programme 'will make it easier for SMEs to accelerate their development and implementation of new products, processes and services, as well as working with UK research institutes. The programme will operate from January 2020 through to March 2023'.

Support may include one or more of the following:

• Review of company research, innovation and development needs, an enrolment meeting to discuss your innovation and growth plans
• 1:1 mentoring to support your innovation journey, including identifying opportunities for collaboration between SMEs & research institutes
• Facilitating relevant under/graduate placements
• Information sourcing carried out by a skilled researcher to support SME innovation plans
• Access to Loughborough University academics for 5 days co-operation, involving small-scale research and knowledge exchange
• Part-funding towards external costs relating to company based innovation and new product development projects – via simplified application process