BUSINESS AWARDS 2015: University of Chichester backs awards

THE OBSERVER and Gazette Business awards have been launched with great excitement.

Organisers are encouraging the best in the business world to get their entry in for one of the 18 categories to highlight their excellence and successes over the past year.

Each year, the awards rely on the fantastic support of sponsors who get involved to help promote the economy.

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This year’s main sponsor is the University of Chichester – one of the largest local businesses – which is sponsoring the overall business category.

Education is a lifelong process and the university has a long heritage of providing skilled personnel and training opportunities for thousands of businesses across the south of England.

It is committed to economic development and regeneration of the region by supporting employers in enterprise, innovation, and workforce development.

This year the university will offer an innovative work-study programme, and has teamed up with a number of firms who will recruit employees while simultaneously undertaking a part-time course in business studies.

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This is a chance for companies to develop their own dedicated workforce focused on their organisation and their goals.

As well as offering a position within the company, businesses also fund half the course fees and students are be eligible for a loan to cover the other half.

The courses are led by university lecturers, each of whom has a business background and is able to combine real-life experience with academic expertise.

University vice-chancellor Clive Behagg said he was delighted to sponsor the awards and spoke of how the university was aiding local firms.

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“To help businesses recruit for the future, we offer subsidised internships through our GraduateOn scheme. This is aimed at new graduates, and we offer up to £1,000 subsidies to companies who can provide a ten-week, full-time 
position paying £8-an-hour as a minimum.

“The aim is that, with the university’s business support and academic expertise, new and existing companies will prosper and ensure our region’s economy continues to thrive while we create a dedicated workforce for the future.”

To find out more about business opportunities at the University of Chichester visit www.chi.ac.uk/business.

Visit the event’s Facebook page to find out more and follow the hashtag #GObiz15 on Twitter.