Empowering new Ipswich businesses: Back To Your Future begins at the Enterprise Hub

Fully funded by New Anglia LEP and delivered by the Eastern Enterprise Hub, the Back to Your Future, course offers 36 hours of free support, which includes workshops on increasing the chance of gaining future employment, improving self-belief, confidence building and networking using the innovative School for Social Entrepreneurs’ learning programme. With Ipswich being named the best place to start a business in the UK in 2017. The current students are taking advantage as most of the students of the new group will be setting up their own businesses.

Digby Chacksfield, chief executive of the School for Social Entrepreneurs East and the Eastern Enterprise Hub, said “ The New Anglia LEP’s support has been fantastic and the response to our course has been positive. Since delivering a similar programme in Thurrock, Essex, aimed at parents returning to work with over half the attendees finding employment or going on to further training, we very much want to repeat our successes and support unemployed people living in Ipswich. I look forward to seeing how our students develop as they start on their journey with the course.”

Doug Field, chairman of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said “This new initiative will help people overcome the challenge of getting into work or training. I am delighted that the Local Enterprise Partnership has been able to fund this work, and we look forward to it making a positive difference to the lives of as many people as possible.”

Whilst providing the cohort with the opportunity to gain skills to help them return to the workplace, students will have the chance to discuss self-employment, as the main focus of the Eastern Enterprise Hub is to support start-up entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.

Two further Back to Your Future Programmes are planned to run. The new programme will be delivered from the Eastern Enterprise Hub on Ipswich Waterfront above Cult Café in the James Hehir Building.

Eastern Enterprise Hub is working with University Of Suffolk’s Student Services, Job Centre Plus to help deliver this programme.

For further information visit www.eehub.co.uk

Follow on Twitter: @EastEntHub