The first ever Staffordshire Business Festival begins today and will feature over 60 events across the county, from export guidance to digital workshops and apprenticeship advice. It is being run by the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and supported by a range of organisations, including the county council.

Staffordshire County Councilas leader Philip Atkins and economic growth leader Mark Winnington will be attending some of the events, including a commercial property breakfast tomorrow. They will be talking about the county councilas work in attracting investment and its support for business and enterprise.

Businesses can now sign up to the county councilas new business support newsletter where they will receive the latest information on support and opportunities available to them. Anyone can sign up by visiting the Customer Alert page on the county councilas website www.staffordshire.gov.uk

Mark Winnington said: aWe are doing a tremendous amount of work in Staffordshire to support businesses and enable them to thrive, in addition to attracting new investment. Weare also doing all we can to increase peopleas skills so that we have a local workforce which meets the needs of employers. In addition, we are continuing to work with other councils and the Government to secure funding to improve infrastructure in the county to create new employment sites. At the festival events we will be talking about our successes and informing businesses about how we can help them, from taking advantage of our business loan scheme to finding a location for their company. We will be reaffirming why Staffordshire is the right place to do business.a

Businesses can find out more about the festival by visiting: www.staffordshirebusinessfestival.co.uk

More information on the county councilas business support services is available in the Right for Business leaflet: https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/business/investment/rfb-booklet.pdf