Record of Advice Agency Defended

By John Duckers

The boss of Advantage West Midlands has defended the troubled reshaping of the Business Link advice agency, which launches next week.

But he came as close as he probably dared to admitting the venture had hit major problems.

Chairman, Nick Paul, said: “As with most things worth doing, the road to the launch of the new service has not always been a smooth one and, as with any restructuring exercise of its type – and I have been through several in my time – this has not been without its fair share of challenges.

“While we were not exactly reinventing the wheel, we were making significant and beneficially changes to the structure and focus of the service.”

The relaunch is focused on a Gateway service, which will employ 75 people, set up as a first point of call for business support, and a Brokerage, employing 177, to deliver for companies.

Gateway is based at Waterfront in the Black Country, with the Brokerage at Birmingham Chamber.

The revamp has already seen:

Plans to axe up to 150 back office staff and advisers.

The departure of pounds 90,000 chief executive David Draycott.

Revelations that barely a month from going live hardly any of the top Brokerage posts had been filled on a permanent basis.

Claims that the organisation’s computers and phones were not up to the job.

Nevertheless Mr Paul says Business Link is “on schedule”.

He charged: “Naturally, as a result of the reorganisation, we expect to see significant benefits for the region.

“Business Link West Midlands is, I believe, the one thing that we can do that will make a massive difference.

This will mark a major turning point in the economic performance of our region.”

The new service will increase the number of companies each year that get in-depth support from a business adviser from around 6,000 currently to 18,000 by 2010.

(c) 2007 Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.