Stepclever Hosts Enterprising Event

Stepclever played host to a major 2-day conference on 30 April which looked at the challenges faced in encouraging enterprise during a recession. 50 delegates from across the country attended this national conference of Local Enterprise Growth Initiatives (LEGIs) at the Marriott Hotel in Liverpool city centre.

Stepclever is the national LEGI for north Liverpool and south Sefton. The aim of LEGI is to release the economic and productivity potential of the most deprived local areas across the country through enterprise and investment, thereby boosting local incomes and employment opportunities, and building sustainable communities.

The conference examined a wide range of topics such as the implications of a downturn in the economy for LEGIs and how the social and educational barriers facing local people when looking to set up in business can be overcome.

Among the speakers were Iain Wright MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Community and Local Government and he was joined by representatives from the Departments of Business, Enterprise and Community local government.

Conference delegates were also entertained by a rap session, written and performed by local people from the Amplifi course, part of the Stepclever programme aimed at young people looking for a career in the music industry.

Cllr Gary Millar, Liverpool City Council Executive Member for Enterprise and Tourism  said "this confrence represents a great opportunity for us to share our experiences in Stepclever and to promote enterprise culture with our counterparts throughout the country. This initiatve is helping a very wide range of people and the rap session shows just how diverse this can be. Inevitably, a lot of our dicussion is focussed on the current economic climate but we must also look to continue to deliver an innovative and ground breaking enterprise-based regeneration programme."