Revitalising a rural economy

04/10/2011

Henfield's High Street is benefiting from a variety of training

The village of Henfield is taking positive steps to revitalise its local economy, with the help of Central Sussex College.

The Sussex village with a population of just 5,500 has not been content to allow its economy to remain in the doldrums during the recession. When Councillor Neville de Moraes contacted Central Sussex College for help, Skills Adviser Goldie Sogan was more than happy to step in.

After a detailed analysis of the village's needs, the College launched a programme that would help local retailers and other employers to upskill their managers and staff, enabling them to deal with the economic challenges. The village has a strong sense of cooperative working and the Council, the Community Partnership, and local traders' organisations met with the College to agree how to engage with the local businesses.

The initiative in July resulted in 10 different businesses agreeing to join the programme, with 28 staff so far benefiting from training - including supermarket chain Budgens - in areas such as retail, customer service, numeracy and management skills. Henfield has an active three-year revitalisation plan to continue the work started this summer.

Neville de Moraes explains; "By forming an exciting partnership with the College, we are building a bridge between our business community and access to improved skills, a key enabler to help it grow and prosper."

The Employer Services team is encouraging other town and village organisations looking to bring new skills to their high streets to get in touch. Call Goldie Sogan on 0845 155 0043 (press 4) or email gsogan@centralsussex.ac.uk.