City of Bath College has teamed up with social housing group Curo to open a pioneering city centre venue that aims to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The Adult Enterprise Centre, on the ground floor of Rosewell Court in Kingsmead Square, was officially opened by Bath MP Don Foster. The result of a unique partnership, it is already giving adults the know-how to help them turn their passions into profitable businesses.
The previously unused office space has been brought back to life and is now delivering start-up business training and setting up a networking hub for new and existing entrepreneurs.
There will also be at least five ‘enterprise stations’ available to rent to encourage people to create their own jobs rather than waiting to find them.
Mr Foster said: “As a city named after an ancient Roman bathing complex, it should come as no surprise that innovation and entrepreneurship continue to go hand in hand with Bath.
“Last year we saw a large number of new start-up businesses registered in the city and the new Bath Adult Enterprise Centre will further serve to support the needs of budding entrepreneurs.
“It’s fantastic that the City of Bath College and Curo have teamed up to offer even more localised support.”
Learners will be able to work towards a BTEC level 2 First Steps to Enterprise qualification or ‘pick and mix’ from 10 modules aimed at different stages of setting up, running and growing businesses.
The flexible learning course is run in conjunction with Adult Enterprise, the national partnership of learning and skills providers who stage entrepreneurship training.
City of Bath College Principal Matt Atkinson said the college remained focussed on the importance of enterprise to the local economy.
“Building a culture of enterprise is as important as more and more people are interested in self-employment than ever before,” he said.
“The college continues to be heavily focussed on making a full contribution to the life of the city and this new venture significantly raises our status with the business community.”
Learning modules go from ‘create’ – for those with an idea but need help developing it into a business proposal – to ‘launch’ – for those who need help to market their businesses and get it started. Finally the ‘grow’ modules look at details such as tax, financial growth and use of social media for marketing.
Curo executive director for transformation & business improvement Donna Baddeley added: “At Curo supporting people into work is one of our priorities, so we jumped at the opportunity to work with City of Bath College on this unique facility for local people looking to start their own businesses.
“We are particularly pleased that so many Curo customers are set to benefit from the hub and the extensive support on offer through this partnership.”
Course modules start at £60 and are free for Curo tenants and those aged 19-23 who do not already have a full level-two qualification.
