ECONOMY
@eastleighbc in school or virtually depending on the current situation. Lea is passionate about careers education and helping students understand their options. Lea recently ran a workshop to 280 pupils in year 7 at Wyvern College, Fair Oak, as part of their “Aspiration Day”. The session helped students to look at ways they could achieve their goals.
Employment & skills engagement with local schools Lea Hampton is the Council’s new Employment and Skills Manager for the One Horton Heath development. The pandemic has meant she has had to find new ways of engaging with schools as she feels careers education is crucial. In her role she brings guest speakers from local businesses to speak to school children, either
Free online business school launches Entrepreneurs in the Borough of Eastleigh are being offered free places on an acclaimed online workshop to help turn their business dreams into reality. The popular PopUp Business School is aimed at helping wouldbe start-ups in the Borough to get their ideas off the ground and will run online from 7 - 11 December. The week-long training schedule includes a mix of practical sessions, one-to-one coaching, workshop sessions and local peer support that residents can attend from the comfort of their homes. The daily sessions will cover a range of courses from sales and marketing, growing your business quickly and taxes and company structure. At a similar event held in May, over a quarter of attendees started a new business and gained their first sale within five days.
The PopUp Business School welcomes people of all ages who are thinking about selfemployment. Whether you are at the beginning of your start-up journey, or an already established business looking for new ways to grow and adapt, the course aims to provide the information, inspiration and practical advice to teach you how to build and evolve your business.
For more information or to book a free space, visit popupbusinessschool.co.uk/ hampshire
Lea has also developed an innovative programme for younger children called Jobs in a Box – this is a resource box of costumes, props, games, lesson plans and information for use in primary schools. She created this last year in her role as an Ambassador for National Careers Week and wants to bring it to primary schools across the Borough. If you would like to know more about this free resource, contact lea.hampton@ eastleigh.gov.uk to arrange it for your school. She has also run two successful funded Train the Trainer sessions on gambling and gaming awareness with The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) for people supporting young people.
As part of our ongoing dedication to skills and development we also have a devoted area on our website called SkillsZone, helping people find available training opportunities and courses. eastleigh.gov.uk/skillszone
Brexit The government is providing information and help for businesses to make sure they’re ready for the changes due to take place at the end of the transition period when the UK exits the EU. The biggest potential cause of disruption are traders not being ready for controls implemented on 1 January 2021. Irrespective of the outcome of negotiations between the UK and EU, traders will face new customs controls and processes.
Find out more: gov.uk/transition
EU Settled Status – deadline 30 June 2021 If you’re an EU citizen living in the UK you will need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June 2021. You can apply online on the government website, which also has up-to-date information and advice about the application process. Find out more at: www.gov.uk/ eusettledstatus
13
News round up Smart watch The Borough has a number of very active Neighbourhood Watch schemes and funding has been agreed that will bring a smarter look to residents’ monitoring efforts. New signs are being installed, with a successful signage replacement scheme in the Hedge End, West End and Botley Local Area. Old or obsolete signs which were looking shabby have been removed. Bishopstoke, Fair Oak & Horton Heath
Community library in Fair Oak A move to keep library services in Fair Oak is making progress. The Fair Oak Parish Council’s Library Task & Finish Group, led by Councillor Nick Couldrey, wants to establish a community interest group to run a library in Fair Oak. Negotiations are still taking place between the Parish and the County Council. If you’d like to volunteer, please visit the Parish Council’s Facebook page.
St Paul’s community centre extension Planning approval has now been given for the community centre extension for St Paul’s church in Whalesmead, Bishopstoke. The extension is planned to be completed by the end of next year. The proposal for this muchneeded community space was welcomed during the public consultation.
Planney improvements More improvement works at the Planney – the small wooded area in Bishopstoke – will continue over the coming month. The Council has recently cleared fly-tipping and will be closely monitoring the area. Improvements to the area include better fencing, signage, footways and support for a ‘Friends of the Planney’ volunteer group.
