Invest in West Lothian - May Newsletter
Hello and welcome to the May edition of the Invest in West Lothian newsletter! In our newsletter, we will be sharing the latest news stories, funding opportunities, and events for businesses in West Lothian.
Here at Invest in West Lothian, we are committed to helping businesses in West Lothian grow by providing confidential and impartial advice, highlighting funding opportunities, and sharing helpful resources. We can help new and established businesses that are currently based in West Lothian, or are looking to relocate to the area. You can learn more about the support we offer by visiting www.investinwestlothian.com .
Celebrating Good News Stories in West Lothian
New West Lothian Lidl plans given go ahead
Supermarket chain Lidl have been granted permission to demolish a derelict former car showroom in the Craigshill area of Livington. Once the building has been demolished, work will begin to build a new 2027 sqm store.
This is expected to create approximately 40 full-time employment opportunities for local residents, which is fantastic news.
You can read the full story here.
Funding for Businesses in West Lothian
The Invest in West Lothian team have extensive experience of preparing funding packages for local businesses of all sizes. Each month, we will highlight a new funding opportunity that is currently available to eligible businesses in the area.
Training Needs Analysis
We are thrilled to offer eligible West Lothian businesses the opportunity to collaborate with our fantastic advisers to carry out a free Training Needs Analysis.
Our advisers will work with you on a 1:1 basis to evaluate your team’s skills and knowledge, ensuring they align seamlessly with your business objectives. This will allow you to pinpoint key opportunities for upskilling tailored to your business's growth and success.
Carrying out a Training Needs Analysis is a very worthwhile exercise for any employer as it allows you to:
- Identify skills gaps and training needs
- Focus your training budget on the right areas
- Increase employee morale and reduce staff turnover
- Improve productivity and performance.
You will leave the session with a clear workforce development action plan to help you achieve your business goals.
To learn more or to book a Training Needs Analysis, please email invest@westlothian.gov.uk
Upcoming Events
We are delighted to be hosting the following free event in May:
Project Management Essentials
Join us for our free in person workshop to learn a comprehensive approach to project management - from the early stages of defining project requirements - to developing work breakdown structures, project change control and closeout. This is taking place on Tuesday, the 14th of May, from 9:30am – 3:30pm at the Scottish Procurement Alliance Partnership Hub in Livingston.
1:1 Procurement Surgery Sessions
There is limited availability remaining on Tuesday, the 21st of May for a free, 1:1 virtual surgery session with procurement expert Mandy Millar from Intend Business Development Ltd. These sessions have been created to help West Lothian business owners improve their understanding of the procurement process and improve their success rate with tender bids. Sessions last 1-hour and take place virtually.
Improve Your Business Marketing with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
This practical workshop will examine how Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) can help transform the creation of written and visual content for your organisation’s digital marketing and wider day to day business activities. This is taking place on Thursday, the 23rd of May, from 10:00am – 3:30pm at the Hilcroft Hotel in Whitburn.
Jobs Fair
Whether you are looking to return to work or are simply considering a career change, come along to West Lothian College and Access2Employment’s free jobs fair and meet employers from different industries in West Lothian. This is taking place on Thursday, the 23rd of May from 11:00am – 2:00pm (no prebooking is required, drop in at any time) at the West Lothian College campus in Livingston.
To learn more and book your free space at any of our events, please click here.