A borough full of talent

Croydon is a young borough, with one of the largest populations of under-18s in London, and a borough full of talent. That’s why one of my priorities is giving our young people the opportunity to upskill and learn, so they can fulfil their potential and thrive.

We work very closely with local schools, colleges and partners to help achieve these shared goals. Recent initiatives include a project to help young people hoping to become successful entrepreneurs, as well as outreach programmes to introduce pupils to the variety of careers available within the public sector when they leave school or higher education.

According to the most recent Start Up Ambition report, more than half (53%) of young adults aged 18 to 30 are considering starting a business this year – with 68 per cent starting out as a side job while studying or holding down a full or part time job.

Croydon Young Entrepreneurs Academy, which launched last month, will provide a range of business support to start-ups, established businesses and sole traders aged 18 to 35. We’ve teamed up with leading business support provider, Enterprise Nation, to deliver an exciting programme of learning during July and August, with follow-up sessions in October.

Young people will find out everything they need to run a business – from how to turn an idea into a profitable business, to basic business skills, securing investment and tips to build resilience against future economic shocks.

It was great to see so many talented entrepreneurs at the launch event of the

Academy earlier this month – people with amazing ideas, who want to turn them into businesses. For each idea that succeeds, our borough benefits; strengthening our local economy, benefitting the local community and bringing new job opportunities for our residents.

The Academy is funded as part of a successful £2.5m bid by Croydon Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), for projects focusing on communities and place and local business support. Using UKSPF funding, we are also offering support for evening and nighttime businesses, to boost the nighttime economy in Croydon. Partnering with Studio Zao, businesses can get help in areas such as digital marketing, content creation, legal and finance, and test new ideas, so they’re equipped with the tools, advice and connections they need to adapt to challenges and grow their enterprise.

Our outreach programmes are very important to us and recently we had the pleasure of welcoming 36l pupils from Harris Invictus Croydon, aged 15 to 17-year-old, who carried out work experience at our offices at Bernard Weatherill House, here in Croydon.

The young people, all from local schools, took part in interactive work tasks right across the organisation, gaining a real flavour of the diversity of local government. From supporting digital projects, to helping redesign the town centre, to working on sustainability and how we can tackle climate change. They got a broad understanding of all the services we provide and the roles open to them. It was great to meet all of the pupils and to hear about their hopes and ambitions for the future. They even put me through my paces asking me a range of insightful questions during a mini question time. I hope they got a real taste of local government and that we’ll see some of them returning to our offices as employees in the future.

Find out more: https://www.impactcroydon.co.uk/ https://www.enterprisenation.com/ croydon-business-bootcamp/

The strategy sets out how the Council and local partners will work together over the next ten years to create a borough where everyone can reach their potential. It will help ensure wealth and opportunity is distributed fairly across the borough.

The new strategy forms part of a wider inclusive economy movement, focused not just on growth itself, but on how people and places can benefit from that growth.

The document is set out across three themes, which are: 1. People