Free Digital Solutions Advice to Help Boost Leeds City Region Economy
Date: 24th February 2020
Businesses across the Leeds city region will again be able to access the best in digital skills, thanks to the renewal of the Digital Knowledge Exchange programme.
Part of the Digital Enterprise business support programme, Digital Knowledge Exchange is delivered by UMi to provide businesses with workshops, masterclasses, mentoring expertise and advice on issues like social media, cyber security, digital resilience and other digital technology solutions.
Since 2017 Digital Knowledge Exchange has helped hundreds of Leeds city region businesses achieve higher levels of productivity, competitiveness and innovation through better use of digital technology.
Previous attendees include Katie Greenhalf, from This Film Production in Harrogate, who said the expert advice was “…personal, straight to the point and incredibly valuable…”; while Phoebe Metcalfe from 2020 Perfect Vision Ltd in Leeds said: “The speaker events were inspiring, motivational and very instructive. Business big or small would benefit from the wide range of information – and I also found that the speakers were very upbeat and spoke in a way that would help less informed people understand.”
From 2020 the programme will deliver more than 40 workshops across the whole of the Leeds city region, undertake 250 digital technology audits and will support 50 businesses with mentoring. The programme will also once again host the Digital Enterprise Top 100, a showcase of the most innovative businesses that have achieved growth and success through upgrading their digital technology and skills.
Muz Mumtaz, who heads the Digital Enterprise programme, said: “The Digital Knowledge Exchange was a runaway success with businesses across the Leeds city region, so much so that there was no doubt we should continue the programme and help many more businesses – which in turn will further boost growth and employment across the Leeds city region.”
Nikki Clark, UMi chief executive, said: “Digital technology is constantly evolving, and it is easy to see that it might mystify or frighten some business owners, who find it impossible to keep up with all these changes. UMi is here to guide and help businesses towards the best digital technology solutions that is tailored just for them, to help them upscale, grow and drive their businesses towards even greater success.”
Glyn Welsby, MD of SCM Turbomotive Ltd in Huddersfield, said: “I thought that the content would be quite light touch given that the audit was free, but it was actually really fantastic. I not only got some useful insight into our future digital development, but I also got information on how to future proof the business.”
