Our newly launched Focus Groups are enabling us to have groups in many cities, towns, market towns, and villages across Norfolk, to connect, support, and give voice to every business in Norfolk. This week saw our first ‘towns’ Focus Group on Tuesday at the beautiful, but chilly Redwings Horse Sanctuary in Aylsham with Andrea Wilson, AKA The Connector. With thanks to Upp, for being event sponsors and for their valuable contributions to the mornings discussions. To Redwings for hosting our attendees, and to our Vice President, Lizzy Dring from Huxley Events for representing the Norfolk Chambers board. Ageing infrastructure The first topic discussed was on ageing infrastructure and the current needs for technology in the workplace. Key points raised were on the impact of data management, and the importance of data transfer. From slow working connections impacting productivity to tech not keeping up with larger file sizes. The pandemic highlighted the success of zoom and the potential of being able to utilise elements of this tech into in-person events. There was a discussion around GDPR and security and that perhaps businesses and individuals working from home were not considering the impact of this. Recruitment Key points on recruitment were on the difficulty of employing people particularly in the visitor and tourism industry, and that many candidates lost confidence during the pandemic. With hybrid working patterns. Employees within the visitor attraction sector can’t be offered working from home options. LSIP (Local Skills Improvement Plan) Our next topic covered LSIP – a new initiative from the Department for Education (DfE) that will set out the key priorities needed to make technical education and skills provision more responsive to the changing needs of employers and the local economy One particular member described an issue with only having training facilities in Chelmsford for his profession meaning the added cost of getting a student to and from the training facility was both expensive and not helping with carbon footprint. There was an overall feeling that there was a real need for practical skills training and the real need for investing time into employees to see the benefits for retention. It was felt communication skills were lacking and needed to be part of the curriculum in schools and colleges, and bringing back work experience for students was needed. Training is needed to combat the shortage of plumbers, builders and trades people. A feeling that students were very driven by YouTube influencers – could we create some influencers who are in the trades to make this look more appealing? A lot of conversations came back to the effects of the pandemic which are affecting many areas of business particularly with skills, wellbeing and recruitment. It was felt that if we can encourage a workforce back into offices and places of work, this would help with seclusion and anxiety. If you would like to join us at another Focus Group in the future, the next upcoming event is Thursday 26th January in Fleggburgh – you can register via the link below: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/engagement-focus-group-fleggburgh-tickets-474154929157
