CREATIVE companies across County Durham are being offered professional support worth its weight in gold.
Durham Creatives is a scheme that will feature workshops, mentoring, coaching, creative retreats and artist talks for small to medium-sized companies (SMEs) of fewer than 250 people in the county.
Managed by Durham Business Opportunities Programme (DBOP), part of business support organisation, Business Durham, the scheme will provide support to around 50 companies.
People into Enterprise Ltd has been commissioned to deliver the support which is available to companies in County Durham which have digital skills, design, arts, crafts and writing at their core.
Companies that take advantage of the programme can expect to receive 12 hours of support, worth an estimated £600. The scheme will run until July 2019.
Sarah Slaven, business development director at Business Durham which manages the scheme, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for creative companies to benefit from professional advice and support.
“I encourage creative SMEs to take advantage of the scheme. That’s companies with digital skills, design, arts, crafts and writing at their core.”
Durham Creatives features a series of free Thrive and Grow workshops that are designed to help companies identify their aspirations, create strategies and locate opportunities.
The workshops will be held at Hotel Indigo in Durham City Centre and at The Bowes Museum.
Sessions will include use of diagnostic tools and business growth models, identification of market trends and opportunities, funding information and examples of innovation.
Attendees will also be introduced to the Durham County Council Arts Team.
The dates for the workshops are:
- 15th June – Hotel Indigo
- 19th June – Hotel Indigo
- 12th July – Bowes Museum
DBOP is a three-year programme for SME’s which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Business Durham.
DBOP is already supporting companies in childcare and manufacturing and engineering sectors, around 150 will be supported by DBOP over programme.
For more details contact the DBOP team on 01207 291268 or email DBOPEnquiries@durham.gov.uk