South Hampshire Business Innovation Centre

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The Solent economy has a population of 1.24 million, in excess of 42,000 businesses, GVA of £31 billion, and is part of the wider South East economy valued at £240 billion GVA _(_[_Economic Outlook - Solent LEP)_][0] Total employment in the Solent is around 522,500 jobs (2021) and lists health at 14.7%, and engineering at 5.8% (with an annual growth rate of 16.53%) in percentage share of hiring. 75% of employers surveyed for LSIP input identified IT and digital skills (8.5% of regional job postings) as being most in demand.[_(Solent Local Skills Improvement Plan, Annexes_][1]_)._South Hampshire College Group's project, The South Hampshire Business Innovation Centre (SHBIC), aims to support our local businesses in the aforementioned sectors to innovate by facilitating access to expertise, skills, services, our state-of-the-art facilities and knowledge and transforming our Centres of excellence to support business innovation and strengthen economic growth.We will build our Further Education capacity and capabilities to work with business through the deployment of three specialist Business Innovation Managers who will align to our regional Solent LSIP priority sectors in; Engineering including marine, robotics, marine electrical and systems engineering; Digital Transformations; and Health and Social Care. The project will support wider economic growth and enabling the implementation of digital and technological solutions, increasing productivity whilst supporting workforce upskilling and aligning activities with our curriculum innovations being developed through LSIF that will run in parallel.The Project aims to create a regional innovation ecosystem whilst recognising the challenges which exist for business, including the complex funding structures and support available for growth. SHBICs, through our Business Innovation Managers and our extensive networks, will provide support services staffed by our sector experts, facilitating access to funding opportunities and cutting-edge technologies, working closely with local services and complimenting existing support available. Our multifaceted approach includes sector-specific solutions, innovative upskilling-programs, targeted funding workshops, extensive opportunities for collaborations with local/national businesses and access to our state-of-the-art facilities.FE colleges may not naturally be perceived by business as innovation champions, our project aims to address this. Over the last seven years, £40m of investment has transformed our campuses at Bishopsfield Road and the Solent Enterprise Zone, our award winning Marine Skills Centre, a beacon for sustainable innovation, and our continued investment in state-of-the-art immersive technologies offer industry unique opportunities for exploration.[0]: https://solentlep.org.uk/the-solent/economic-outlook/[1]: https://www.hampshirechamber.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Solent-LSIP-Annexes.pdf