The innovative ClacksWiSE (Clacks Women into Self Employment) programme, run by Ceteris (Scotland) Ltd has come to a close after helping, to date, 12 new start-up businesses launch in Clackmannanshire.
Last year, the ClacksWiSE team asked the women of Clackmannanshire if they wanted to be their own boss and build a flexible worklife balance that suited them and their families.
The response was overwhelming and almost 40 women received advice and support from the ClacksWiSE team of Alison Davidson, Dorothy Henke and Mandy Campbell.
Now after a packed schedule of 21 workshops and personal development days, this one-off back to work programme has come to a successful close.
Emma Wilson who was supported through the ClacksWiSE programme, has now launched her new business Head to Toe Complementary Therapies. Emma says “ClacksWiSE came just at the right time for me. The team were all very encouraging and supportive, providing useful workshops and one to one sessions for those trickier topics. Thanks to ClacksWiSE my young business and the necessary building blocks are now all in place, giving me the confidence to enjoy, grow and establish my business.”
Charlaine Dunham who launched Treasure Every Moment Body Casting continues “ClacksWiSE gave me the confidence and skills to believe in my abilities. The team were so supportive and the experts that came in to run some of the workshops were fantastic. I’m so grateful that they gave up their time to help us all”.
All ClacksWiSE events and workshops were free of charge and covered topics such as business planning, finance, IT, social media, and marketing.
The programme also offered free access to the touchdown space networking hub in the Alloa Business Centre, provided experienced advisors to support and encourage and also offered interactive training sessions in confidence building, assertiveness, communication and presentation skills.
Alison Davidson, Business Development Manager at Ceteris said,” ClacksWiSE was set-up to support women in Clackmannanshire who were looking to return to work or were considering self-employment but were lacking in some of the skills and confidence to do so. Our aim was to help them start and grow sustainable businesses and provide them with the best chance of success. I am thrilled that we met these objectives and were able to provide a positive economic contribution to Clackmannanshire.”
However, it doesn’t end there as a number of the women on the ClacksWiSE program are still in the process of considering what kind of business to set-up, such as Clare Johnson who now, thanks to an introduction by ClacksWiSE, volunteers at The Japanese Garden at Cowden. She said, “ClacksWiSE was a super confidence boost given my starting point and a lovely nurturing environment. The range of workshops was wonderful and the tailored 1-2-1 sessions were fantastic!’
ClacksWiSE was funded by The Royal Bank of Scotland Skills & Opportunities Fund which was set up in 2015 to create opportunities for people in disadvantaged communities to gain qualifications, find work or start a business. Since then over £500k has been distributed to good causes through the Fund.
As well as ClacksWiSE, Ceteris also run the Business Gateway Clackmannanshire contract (recently awarded for a further 5 years) and offer bespoke business training and advice to companies of all sizes across Clackmannanshire.
To find out how Ceteris and Business Gateway Clackmannanshire can help your business call 01259 726430.
PIC: The ClacksWiSE ladies with their completion certificates pictures with Alison Davidson, Dorothy Henke and Mandy Campbell of Ceteris.