Another month, another big announcement for Worcestershire LEP and the county.
Whilst we were showcasing our cyber sector at the Infosecurity 2018 event, we had the pleasure of launching the BetaDen, a brand new tech accelerator which will be co-located with us at the Malvern Hills Science Park. The BetaDen will be Worcestershire’s first dedicated tech accelerator for entrepreneurs and scale up tech businesses, providing the business environment to succeed and I would urge any interested companies to get in touch.
Infosecurity wasn’t the only high profile event were able to attend last month, as we also went to the successful Three Counties Defence and Security Expo (3CDSE) at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern. The event was very well attended with an estimated 1,000 businesses present to discuss cyber security, defence and communications.
These growing sectors featured in the latest Technation 2018 report, which has now been published online. I was pleased to see that the report highlighted ‘good internet speeds’, the ‘appealing area’ and ‘business opportunities’ as positives for start-ups in Worcester and Malvern. It was also great to see the recognition of several LEP-supported projects in the development of local tech, including the 5G Testbed, The Kiln, Malvern Hills Science Park and Pershore College.
Last week we were able to showcase some of the technological innovations taking place at Pershore College to over 100 school children who are looking at work within the agri-tech industry. Schools in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire saw the many careers opportunities available in horticulture and agri-tech sectors as well as how our local businesses are meeting the challenges of food and plant production with the latest agricultural technologies.
Finally, I would like to remind readers that the Worcestershire Apprenticeship Awards nominations will be closing soon on 6 July. All local employers, schools, training providers and businesses can submit an entry or nomination for an award. Last year’s Employer of the Year, CP Foods UK, have seen some fantastic success with their apprenticeships and they are encouraging other local employers to get their entries in as soon as possible.
