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Cluster groups are about getting businesses in different sectors together to form valuable contacts as well as gain advice and mentoring opportunities
To date there are six main clusters:
Each is unique and based on the needs reported by the businesses in that particular industry. The first cluster – childcare - has been running for over a year and the most recently developing clusters (Food & Drink and Digital Media) started this financial year.
Each cluster has begun with work to analyse the needs of the sector in order to develop a programme of support to those businesses. From then, there is a combination of 1:1 provision as well as a workshop/seminar programme to aid those businesses and network with other businesses in the same sector.
Any emerging sector issues are dealt with by a specialist who can either answer the issue or help to problem solve. For example, the speakers at the last forum meeting were Julie Brant, Head of Croydon early years who spoke to the group about concerns they had regarding Local Delivery Partnerships and children’s centres, and Sandra Grey from PS Credit Management who spoke to the group about credit management and the best way to handle bad debts.
The childcare cluster so far:
- Croydon Day Nursery Forum (CDNF) now has over 20 members who are responsible for 73% of nursery settings in Croydon.
- Meetings of the cluster have now been regulated and are every two months.
- A directory of childcare will be produced with sponsorship funding from local firm Morten Michel. As part of the business development provision a funding strategy and sponsorship strategy will be created to aid sustainability.
- As a result of the additional support provided by Croydon Enterprise CDNF have been invited to the National Head Teachers Conference to talk about early years education.
- Main focus of CDNF at present is sustainability. We are deciding on how much membership to the forum should be and examining the possibility of delivering training courses on behalf of Local Authorities as a form of trading activity.
The CDNBF have been recognised for their good practice and innovation by other boroughs (including Bromley and Lambeth) who have attended meetings to see how they can recreate a nursery businesses forum in their own boroughs. In addition, the CDNBF have a powerful lobbying contingent and have persuaded Croydon Council to provide all their employees (who are parents) with childcare vouchers.
The CDNBF needs help to address their own sustainability and governance issues. In addition, they need help with implementing membership charges, deciding on the most effective methodology to disseminate best practice and how to refer cases and issues directly to the Early Years department. With additional funding, their remit could be extended to include other childcare providers e.g. child minders, sessional childcare providers
Future opportunities within this cluster
- Increase funding for general provision
- Expand provision for other childcare providers
- Employee enterprise stimulation programme
- Croydon Conference on Childcare
A mapping exercise was undertaken of all manufactures in Croydon. It identified the following:
- 1,200 manufacturers identified
- 227 have been actively contacted about the possibility of joining the cluster
- The cluster engages with around 40 new companies a year and meets quarterly. Workshops are delivered based on the needs of these businesses.
- One to one interventions and surgery sessions are be available on demand.
There are a number of ways in which the cluster is developing including:
- Helping participating organisations to implement lean manufacturing processes.
- Helping the companies to implement joint procurements initiatives and relevant quality standards (ADR and ISO).
The main operational issues the businesses relate to:
- Staffing (recruitment, retention, skills and training),
- IT Systems and need for implementation of computerized systems
- Marketing and PR
- Turnover from products
- Competition
One of the emerging issues is the nature of the problems that salons are having. Only 50% of business issues occurring could be categorised as being operational, the rest are individual issues that, in turn, are affecting managerial capabilities. The consultants are dealing with a number of issues that would not be picked up on a standard business diagnostic and are rightly providing holistic business support that includes looking at personal development issues alongside generic business or management issues.
This cluster is developing very well with all members becoming very active and membership spreading through word of mouth. There have been two well attended cluster meetings this year and there is a growing list of businesses seeking support.
Future opportunities
- Specific Hair IT project with grants allowance
- Personal Development/Management training
- Technical Business Training
- Recruitment and Retention skills programme
As food is one of the newest clusters to form, there is limited information and action to date.
The emerging issues are listed below with the recurrent issues highlighted.
- DCM issues (parking, litter, waste disposal and recycling, these have been referred to the relevant DCM)
- Advertising, marketing and PR
- Lack of PDQ systems
- Companies left vulnerable if MD is indisposed
- Recruitment (hard to entice young UK males)
- Business planning
- Cash flow relating to debt management (larger firms)
- Procurement possibilities/bulk buying opportunities
- Working capital
- IT Stock control programmes
- Online selling services
- Government Legislation due to emission laws
The businesses engaged so far are all SMEs but vary in turnover from £25,000 to £2.5 Million per annum
Future opportunities:
- Showcasing for all food producers at major exhibitions
- Local Showcase opportunity
- Sub groups for food e.g. restaurants
- Meet the buyer events
- Funding to extend number of participants
- Access to sales group. Idea being that we can help businesses to access selling products into local food businesses and looking at hosting speciality markets in Croydon. Also potential to enable businesses to showcase their food at Find Food in Olympia and events around British Food fortnight
This cluster is currently delivering sector specific business support working with young entrepreneurs (18-35yrs) in the music industry to convert their current business activity in the informal economy into formal economy businesses. We are looking at a cluster to support these business owners to keep trading within the formal economy.
This is a slow growth cluster possibly as it is not sufficiently defined and it combines the creative sector with the business world. The focus of the cluster has changed slightly recently towards an emphasis of putting Croydon’s music industry on the map. The businesses that have joined are a mixture of conventional and non conventional music businesses of a variety of ages.
The main issue amongst those who are in business is:
- Lack of general operating systems including book keeping,
- IT systems
- Cashflow management.
Future opportunities
- Croydon Music Awards
- Croydon Music Festival
- Expand into other creative sectors
This is the newest cluster. There has been one meeting with businesses and the feedback is now being reviewed. |
