How can colleges aid your business?

Institutions such as Tower Hamlets College and University of East London have set themselves up to lend a hand to companies in recent years, whether they're offering heads for market research, giving advice or helping with product development. But many in the business world remain unaware of the benefits of these services.

A survey of companies conducted by UEL's Knowledge Dock enterprise development service revealed that 77 per cent had never sought support from higher education institutions, while 58 per cent said they didn't currently employ graduates.

It was a situation that the two institutions tried to adjust last Thursday, when they conducted a talk at Royal Mint Court giving tips on how colleges could "boost their business". The event was held in association with the Docklands Business Club.

Tower Hamlets College's business development manager Andrew Cruickshank said: "The theme of the night was all about how your local college and local university can, together, meet the needs of local small businesses in their ambitions to grow and develop.

"Tower Hamlets College uses a range of government and European funding to support small businesses. There is free recruitment and training for staff, and free one-to-one consultancy to help businesses gain finance.

"Another key message of the evening was that this level of support may not be available to businesses in the future, as government budgets are tightened, so very much a case of 'buy now while stocks last!'"

UEL's Knowledge Dock also has access to domestic and international funding allowing it to work with small and medium businesses.

Communications manager Martin Chan said: "A lot of companies can benefit from the fresh perspective of students, especially with things like the online market.

"We worked with a frame manufacturing company that was facing competition from other companies, and we advised them that one of the ways they could really improve was to look at the internet. We developed a whole new website for them, and turnover went up five-fold in three years."

The recent UEL Thames Gateway Business Survey focused on companies in the manufacturing, transportation, communication, wholesale, finance, insurance, real estate and services sectors, and received 186 responses.

While just under 50 per cent of respondents claimed they were short of skilled staff, 45 per cent believed graduates were not prepared to enter the workplace upon graduating. However, 79 per cent of those that had a working student placement scheme argued it benefited the company.

Mr Chan said: "There's a lot of support there for businesses and it's not well known. It's kind of an untapped goldmine. Once businesses see what we can offer, a lot of them go on and do different projects with us."