Rotarians hear of recruitment challenge facing employers

Otis Powell, membership manager at Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, delivered an update on the local economy when he spoke at a meeting of Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club.

He updated members on some of the policy and lobbying work being done by the Chamber, and revealed some headline findings from its latest quarterly economic survey – including the ongoing recruitment difficulties for some firms.

Otis also outlined some of the work being done to bring a wider range of education and training opportunities to the county, including the new Quad building in Telford town centre’s Station Quarter involving two Chamber patrons – Harper Adams University and Telford College.

He said the Chamber’s chief executive Ruth Ross was actively involved in working with local skills providers through projects such as the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LISP) for the Marches, which are designed to bring education and business more closely together.

Rotarians were told that the Chamber represented around 700 different types of businesses in the county, including a flagship group of patron members who were keen to help grow and support the local economy.

Otis spoke about the busy training programme operated by the Chamber, which offers everything from international trade and health and safety to marketing, IT, employment law and much more.

“Business training is helping to upskill the workforce and leadership training has brought £2.5 million worth of funding to Shropshire.”

He said the Chamber was particularly keen to increase its engagement with the farming and agriculture communities in the coming months.

He added: “We sit in the middle and help where we can, taking business problems to MPs and providing a gateway to getting voices heard locally and in Parliament.”

Anyone wishing to learn more about Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club can contact gdmw@hotmail.co.uk

By Peter Love - Contributor