Sutherland Shire Council has invested thousands of dollars into the Sutherland Shire Hub for Economic Development (SSHED) over the past decade to create local jobs, which had direct benefits for the Shire community.
In addition to assisting over 150 local businesses, the SSHED has created more than 550 jobs since its inception in 2003 by providing a structured development growth path for its members. This equates to approximately $60 million in real wages going back into the economy over the last 10 years.
Sutherland Shire Mayor, Steve Simpson, said this meant the SSHED business accelerator had more than 60 million reasons to celebrate its 10th anniversary year.
“We are very proud that the SSHED has become a model for other regional business accelerators.
“We’re excited and very optimistic about how much more we can accomplish for local and regional businesses over the next 10 years.”
The SSHED is Sutherland Shire Council’s hallmark economic development initiative aimed at generating local wealth by growing local businesses and creating sustainable jobs. The SSHED began as a concept in 1989, but it wasn’t until 2000 that Sutherland Shire Council, as part of its Economic Development strategy, decided to build the SSHED facility in Loftus, NSW and invest in developing a structured business acceleration program.
Officially opening on 23 November 2003, the SSHED facility is part of a $5M training, education and business development precinct. Besides its proven business acceleration program, the SSHED provides modern furnished office space, IT support, meeting rooms, parking, a café and much more for program members who have signed up for the SSHED mentoring program and/or have an office in the SSHED facility.
The SSHED works mostly with small-to-medium businesses, which represent more than 80 percent of all Shire businesses. It facilitates advice, accountability and support and a safe growth path for stimulating the local economy.
Looking forward the SSHED will continue to invest time and effort into creating new products such as the ‘Business Reality Check, Forecasting and Marketing Workshops’. These one-on-one workshops play an important role in providing business owners the right tools to better understand the core areas of running a successful business. The SSHED’s proven methodology is based around the insights and learnings collated over the last 10 years and is proving invaluable to many business owners.
