The government backed, business advice network, Be The Business, has selected the Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC) as a national ‘Trailblazer’ project.
STC Chair Roz Bird commented: “We have been talking with Be the Business throughout 2020. Their role, supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is to promote productivity in the UK.
“They wanted to work with the STC because of our established network of high-growth, advanced engineering businesses, and importantly the great potential of our business community to help improve productivity in UK manufacturing due to our companies’ approach to innovation and specialist capabilities.
“The project will put the STC on the map with central government and UK plc, for all the right reasons, and most importantly the Trailblazer project will bring in a wide range of expertise and support to the local area, including training courses, peer-to-peer networking and the insight of a Business Fellow, a senior figure from industry, to champion the STC.”
Anthony Impey, CEO, Be the Business said: “We are really excited to partner with the Silverstone Technology Cluster to support small businesses. Together, we will help businesses in the Silverstone Technology Cluster region by creating opportunities for business leaders to collaborate, effectively adopt technology and develop management skills.”
Launched five years ago, the STC is an organisation that supports and promotes the interests of some 4,000 advanced engineering, manufacturing, electronics and software development businesses located in the one-hour drive time radius of Silverstone – central to the government’s Oxford-Cambridge Arc (growth corridor).
These businesses work in many different sectors including aerospace, automotive, defence, energy, marine, medical devices, satellite and space exploration, and motorsport.
Be The Business (BTB) was launched in November 2017, with funding from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to help the UK government examine and improve the nation’s productivity, and, as a result of COVID-19, also recovery strategies.
The partnership with Be The Business was announced today during the STC’s Annual Conference – attended by over 200 business professionals via a series of online presentations and speed networking sessions. Amongst the speakers is former BEIS Secretary of State Andrea Leadsom MP.
By becoming a Be The Business Trailblazer, the STC will be able to deliver mentoring programmes, peer-to-peer networking, SME advisory boards and leadership training for businesses, across the Cluster region, free of charge.
Be The Business is led by former Chair of both the John Lewis Partnership and the UK Commission for Employment & Skills, Sir Charlie Mayfield, and soon-to-be Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, Tony Danker.
Sponsoring the Trailblazer partnership for the first ‘pilot year’ of its planned three years is STC founding member, Silverstone Park.
Roz, also Commercial Director at Silverstone Park, added: “We’re now putting together a full programme of work for 2021, targeting all advanced engineering, electronics and software companies in the cluster region. This is a great opportunity for all businesses in the STC region and one that we will want to maximise for our STC members.”
Silverstone Technology Cluster to become a national ‘trailblazer’ project for Be The Business
