Businesses snap up free council business courses

Courses ran every Monday throughout October and November at a variety of locations in the Forest of Dean and included information and advice on Covid transmission and risks, as well as practical demonstrations on Disinfection Fogging, Air Purification and Distance Space Bands devices.

Cllr Bernie O’Neill said:

“It’s been brilliant to see the interest from local businesses in the Covid safety courses provided by the council. I’m sure that the information and demonstrations provided by officers will help those who attended remain resilient over the winter months and I’d like to thank them for their efforts in assisting businesses in our community.

“We want to ensure that business in the Forest of Dean continues to flourish and there will be further courses to help ensure that businesses and the public remain healthy and safe as we adjust to this new way of living.”

The courses were open to businesses from all sectors, with follow-up advice from the council's Covid Compliance Officers available to all attendees and a certificate from Forest of Dean District Council to confirm attendance.

Sue and Louise from Blakeney Village Hall attended the course and commented:

“The course helped in highlighting areas we’re working successfully to remain Covid safe, but also gave us great information on things we could improve on. As a village hall we cater to different age groups and vulnerabilities and since attending the course, we now feel armed to deal with these in the future.”

Ian Griffiths, Covid Project Officer at Forest of Dean District Council said:

“It has been fantastic to receive such a high amount of interest from businesses across all sectors in the Forest of Dean.

“We’ve worked hard with businesses to provide guidance and information to help them keep their business safe during the next few months, however for those unable to attend we’d recommend to keep an emphasis on ventilation. Remember, though it might be getting colder, it’s important to keep windows and doors open to let fresh air in and to keep your business, customers and staff safe.

“To any interested businesses, please do get in contact with us by email. It’s important that both delegates and presenters share information and learn from each other and we look forward to resuming these courses soon.”

Forest of Dean District Council are looking to run the courses again from January 2022 and if you’re a business that is interested in attending, please email [email protected] to register, quoting FODDC.