Educators and employers address regional skills challenges
Challenges in recruitment and skills across our region’s businesses have been recently highlighted at East Midlands Chamber’s annual People and Skills summit.
The event brought together 200 delegates from the business community and education sector, and hosted a series of talks, keynote speakers and workshops.
The summit was centred around the Chamber’s Manifesto for Growth 2024 – which outlines a set of policy asks for the next government to consider.
Speakers at the summit included: Professor Baback Yazdani, Executive Dean of Nottingham Business School; Kate Lee, Talent & Resourcing Manager, Samworth Brothers; Emma Kwiatkowski, Director, Hays; Craig Brothers, Vice President, East Midlands Chamber; Laura Shepherd, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Loughborough College and Dr Gareth Thomas, Managing Director, Skills and Employment Support Ltd.
East Midlands Chamber Head of Special Projects Richard Blackmore said: “Reforming skills is an essential ingredient to economic growth and all the research we conduct with businesses in the East Midlands – like our latest Quarterly Economic Survey where 66% of respondents in the region reported difficulties recruiting staff – has underlined the need to address the issue. The East Midlands People and Skills summit is one of the ways the Chamber can get right into the heart of the issues faced by businesses, breaking them down and finding solutions to overcome each hurdle.
“Candidate needs are evolving, while factors like technology advance just as quickly. Businesses need to ready themselves for emerging technology like AI and what that might mean for the skills candidates might need in the future. Workplaces need to be attractive to new recruits and be open minded to finding ways to match their needs with those of prospective employees. That can mean consideration of things like having a strong Corporate and Social Responsibility policy, offering employees the opportunity to engage with communities and charities, for example.
“If we can pinpoint the sticking blocks in skills, recruitment and retention, we can fix them and that’s why it’s so important that businesses and educators engage with each other, to solve staffing issues both now and in the future.”
Chesterfield businesses are encouraged to find out more about upskilling their workforce by contacting Chesterfield Borough Council’s Skills Brokerage Service.
More information about the service can be found at: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/business-support/skills/
