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Halesowen Community Innovation

Halesowen Community Innovation helps local businesses, community organisations and residents build digital confidence, solve practical challenges and make better use of technology in everyday life and work. We operate anywhere within the Black Country or surrounding regions.

Our work supports Halesowen College’s digital strategy by focusing on:

Inclusive, safe and ethical digital culture

Helping people use technology in ways that are secure, accessible and responsible. (ref. Pillar 4)

Partnerships and lifelong learning

Collaborating with employers, community groups and local residents to develop skills, share expertise and create ongoing opportunities to learn. (ref. Pillar 5)

How we help your business

We offer free audit and consultancy support to micro and SME businesses, helping you understand your current setup and identify practical improvements in areas such as:

Support your business’s digital transformation from online presence to information security.
- Unbiased advice and guidance
Upskill your workforce to make use of digital technology to enhance productivity and efficiency.
Identify innovation opportunities that may inspire out-of-the-box approaches that may impact your industry.
Collect information to help shape the college’s future curriculum
Serve as link between local employers and the college

How we support your community

We feel as a local college we have a duty to be an active member of the community. It has been noted that there is a need for digital support, awareness and development within Halesowen and the surrounding region. The support we offer is:

Knowledge transfer regarding common concerns in cyber security, artificial and navigating government legislation.
Upskill on common digital tools used in society and work skills:
- Use of online resources such as making appointments and bookings for services
- Support adoption of new technology eliminating some of the fear and misinformation.
Supporting local services to become more efficient and accessible to their patrons.
Serve as a link between the black country community and the college

What we offer

Innovate UK workshop — We offer workshops to support businesses understand the digital landscape

Innovate UK support session — We offer 1:1 support and advice to local businesses

CEDRIC Emmiera — We can provide employee/ staff upskilling onsite

AI, Machine learning, obot hand ai artificial intelligence assistance human touching on big data network connection background, Science artificial intelligence technology, innovation and futuristic. — We can help businesses develop solutions to problems they face digitally

What others say

Here are some examples of how we’ve supported local organisations through Halesowen Community Innovation:

“The service that has been offered by Richard has been first rate, he has gone over and above what we expected and has become a significant help in our business organisation which will undoubtedly benefit us going forward. He has put himself out to rescue us a times of trouble. Would thoroughly recommend his services and that of the College service.”

“I have found Richard to be very proactive in his approach when engaging with myself and my team. We are very happy and grateful for the college and Richard’s service to our business and would 100% recommend this programme to other business owners.”

“From the first initial meeting with Richard, we were able to fast track the gap analysis and make plan to make the improvements. Using Richard’s experiences, it allowed us to un-block internal roadblocks preventing the improvements to be made on site. Once implemented, we expect this project will benefit to grow the business.”

"Richard Johnson and Perry James have been a tower of strength and support to myself as a sole trader, running a small business in health and wellbeing. This has increased my presence locally in the Black Country, within the West Midlands, and also online to reach more clients in U.K. and abroad."

"The training session delivered by Richard was genuinely eye‑opening. His approach was down‑to‑earth, relatable, and incredibly easy to follow, yet the depth of insight he provided into Microsoft Teams was outstanding. What really stood out was how he made complex features feel simple and accessible, opening our eyes to capabilities we didn’t even realise were available to us."

"My company Concept Covers reached out to UK Research and Innovate through Business Growth West Midlands to find out what local assistance was available for digital marketing. We were delighted to learn of a T-Level Management and Administration student placement programme offered through Halesowen College where students could offer their services to gain real life onsite work experience with support and tuition from dedicated Innovate Advisors."