A TOTAL of 2,638 businesses in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald’s circulation area have received support from Business Link Northwest in the last three years and the number of businesses using the service has grown significantly year on year.

When it comes to hot topics in Cumbria, telephone and e-mail inquiries relating to skills, business growth and finance have consistently increased, reaching an all-time high in 2009-10.

Given that the UK was in recession for a significant part of the 12-month period, it’s encouraging to see that companies haven’t let training fall by the wayside. This shows that more local businesses are recognising that training can help them to achieve goals and increase staff motivation.

It also suggests that owner-managers are saving time and money by seeking third party input to help them analyse training needs within their businesses and find out about external funding and development opportunities.

It’s easy to assume that the increase in finance-related queries ties in with the recession, but not all of the inquiries related to working capital — some businesses wanted information about finance for growth, innovation and business development.

This is echoed by the increase in inquiries relating to business growth, showing that confidence levels have remained high for many businesses in spite of the challenging economic climate of the last few years.

Encouragingly, Business Link has also seen a year-on-year increase in people inquiring about starting a business in the local area over the last three years, which suggests that entrepreneurial spirit has remained strong in the district in spite of the challenging economic conditions.

In 2009-10, the top five topics that Cumbrian businesses contacted Business Link’s telephone and e-mail service about were:

1) Thinking of starting a business

2) Finance

3) Business growth

4) Skills

5) HR including employment

Peter Watson, managing director at Business Link Northwest, said: “Over the last three years we have engaged with almost 3,000 local businesses and 158 budding entrepreneurs.

“In the wake of the economic downturn, finance has been high on the agenda for many companies.

“Tightened lending conditions, longer payment times and a harsher trading market have made it more challenging for companies looking to fund large growth projects and those in need of working capital.

“Meanwhile, the upturn in skills-related queries shows that, contrary to popular belief, employers haven’t put staff training on the back burner during the recession and still value the importance of developing their workforce.

“A marked year-on-year increase in start-up inquiries suggests that the recession and its aftermath have not acted as a deterrent to ambitious and enterprising people, which is great news for the district as strong new businesses will help to create more jobs and grow the local economy.”

To find out more about the support available from Business Link Northwest, telephone 0845 00 66 888, e-mail infobusinesslinknw.co.uk or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northwest.