Telford businesses come together to develop local job economy
A new skills group bringing together Telford employers has launched to prepare the region for future skills needs and provide enhanced opportunities for youngsters.
The group – launched by Telford Business Board – held its first meeting at Telford College recently and is a combined effort by local business leaders to share insight into sector-specific skills gaps they face, enhance the quality and variety of higher education on offer to young people, and help the region’s job economy recover from the impact of Covid-19.
Chairing the new skills group panel is Mark Thompson, managing director of AceOn, a specialist battery manufacturer and supplier.
He said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed chair and feel passionately about the importance of skills development through higher education. During my 30-year career I’ve employed hundreds of individuals across various roles so I absolutely understand the needs that businesses have and the different skillsets they require.
“New jobs and new skills will be key to how we as a country recover from the Covid-economic recession. The skills group will help us understand the challenges we face in our individual sectors through identifying skills and training gaps, and will support us all in working collaboratively to improve the quality and variety of higher education on offer to young people in the region.”
Graham Guest, principal and chief executive of Telford College, said: “The future of education needs to be built around imaginative and creative collaboration, and we are keen to work closely with partners across a wide variety of business sectors."
The first quarterly meeting included leaders from AceOn, Telford College, Muller, Balfour Beatty, Wolverhampton University, Harper Adams University, Telford & Wrekin Council, Protolabs, and CMK Electrical.
Paul Hinkins, chair of Telford Business Board, added: “Together, we’re dedicated to helping young people, and our board has an excellent combined knowledge to support WEXP, industry placements, T-levels, apprenticeships and higher education.
“We’d like to offer our thanks to Telford College for hosting our very first meeting – the team went above and beyond to ensure the safety of our attendees. We are very keen to ensure all sectors are represented, so I’d encourage anyone interested in joining the skills group to email telford-businessboard@outlook.com for more information.”
