10,000 new jobs,many of which have been made available to to permanent worker and umbrella company contractor alike, have been created by a government initiative.
The Business Start-Up programme, headed by the Welsh Assembly Government, has led to 4,350 new businesses open their doors in just under five years. In turn each of these start ups has been a major player in employment growth, with freelancers, contractors, and traditional employees all benefiting from opportunities to ply their trade.
Business secretary Edwina Hart praised the scheem this week, remarking that an additional 13,000 positions could ve added by June of 2015, adding that the government wishes to support and encourage Welsh entrepreneurs, making the Business Start-Up programme a priority. In order to further that goal, the business secretary said that January will see a new SME mentoring service become operational in order for new businesses to receive additional support, and Ms Hart also drew attention to the launch of a Micro-Business Loan Fund earlier in 2012.
The European Regional Development Fund and the Welsh Assembly are joint sponsors of the initiative, which aims to encourage and foster economic growth in the wake of the credit crunch and resultant global economic downturn. Providing aid for new businesses is perhaps one of the most cost-effective ways to return to solvency, industry experts say, and with 10,000 new positions added throughout the lifetime of the programme so far, the initiative is paying major dividends.
