National Supported Internship Day 

To mark National Supported Internship Day on the 27th March, Castledon School held an event to better inform parents of the support that is available.

Great to see Inclusive Employments flourishing in the county. Amazing event, with some current interns telling their fabulous stories.

Nice to catch up with Suzanne Davis of Essex County Council.

Professional Services Roundtable 

It was great to see the room full of local professional services businesses and other stakeholders.

Thank you to David Malthouse and the team at First Intuition EAST ANGLIA offices in Chelmsford for hosting and leading the discussion on careers in accountancy.

Joanne Giles of Essex Chambers of Commerce & Industry chaired the discussion at the LSIP professional services roundtable.

When asked “what skills does your workforce require?” The discussion focused on young adults entering the workforce, and their need for:

•    communication skills, especially verbal such as using a phone 
•    emotional intelligence, reading a room, interpreting body language 
•    being willing to challenge information they see, having an inquiring attitude 
•    ability to think critically 
•    building and investing in long term relationships
•    realistic ambitions about how quickly they will progress, being patient with earning senior positions 

Thanks go to Glyn Mummery, Colin Corrigan, Nicki Ramsbottom MCIM, Clare Wilson (Assoc CIPD), John Holliday, Abi Wilson ACA, Abigail Hubert, Clare Barlow, Ashley McClinton, Amanda Waite and Paula Hornett for their insights.

It was good to have the accountancy awarding bodies Marc Jerrard from ICAEW and Yvonne Eaves of AAT in the room participating in the discussion. 

House of Commons Private dinner  - Meet Gillian Keegan 

Essex Chambers of Commerce CEO, Denise Rossiter, had the pleasure of hosting a dinner at the House of Commons, where we were joined by Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan, Julia Lopez joint Minister of State for the Department of Culture, Media & Sport and Department for Science, Innovation & Technology and Anna Firth MP for Southend West.  It gave us the opportunity to debate directly with the Minister’s on the skills agenda for Essex. Our LSIP team Andy Sparks and Joanne Giles were able to highlight our work and the ecosystem that is growing to support the Local Skills Improvement Plan within Essex.

Portcullis Business Group Breakfast Meeting 

It was great to hear about the fantastic work that is taking place in Government developing the use of AI to improve services.

We met with MP, Cllr Dan Swords Leader of Harlow Council, Robert Halfon MP for Harlow and Parliamentary Secretary and MP for Hutton Alex Burghart.

The skills required within this sector are changing exponentially and at a pace that is unprecedented. The work that the Essex LSIP is facilitating within this sector will support the evolution of skills and platforms within the county. 

Adult skills job fair 

Many thanks to the Workforce Adult Skills team at South Essex College of Further and Higher Education for inviting our LSIP Project Director, Joanne Giles, to their Southend jobs fair.

It was great to see so many employers attending the event, over 1000 people came to talk to them about jobs and opportunities.

Commenting on the event Jo said "Huge thanks go to Nicky O’Brien and Clare Pettini for creating an excellent event for the citizens of Southend and Essex. 

"It is incumbent upon us all to help create the ecosystem to support skills and economic prosperity."

Skills System Priorities - Digital Solution for Essex 

We hosted an event on the 16th May at the County Hotel in Chelmsford. Bringing together key stakeholders across the county.

Following publication of the LSIP in 2023, Essex Chambers of Commerce and Essex County Council are exploring opportunities to deliver against the system priorities within the Local Skills Improvement Plan.

We are excited to start the exploration and development of a new initiative, the Essex Connector. In collaboration with GetMyFirstJob and supported by Microsoft we are starting the work to scope the premise of the tool and build on the vision. 

Essex Connector is a centralised ecosystem intelligently connecting work and learning opportunities enabling Essex residents to make informed decisions on their skills and employment journey.

The morning gave us the opportunity to showcase the concept and start the process of collaboration on this exciting tool. 

View the Presentation HERE.  View the Briefing Note HERE. 

Essex Global Summit 

Essex Chambers of Commerce hosted their first Essex Global Summit at Hylands House on 22nd May.

It was great to hear from the Benefits of Freeports panel of speakers who included William Bain from the British Chambers of Commerce, Martin Whiteley from Thames Freeport, Steve Beel from Freeport East and Juliet Wallwork from BDO LLP, who identified skills as one of the key priorities for the sector.

Both Andy Sparkes and Jo Giles had the opportunity to discuss the skills priorities with employer around the county galvanising further employer desire to invest in skills across the county.

L-R: Kam Hunjan - Olympus, Jo Giles - Essex LSIP, Levent Yildizgoren - TTC wetranslate, Scott Goodfellow - Wilkins & Sons, Denise Rossiter - Essex Chambers, Andy Sparks - Essex LSIP, Sally Jones - EY UK, Joe Denham - VegTrug Group, Juliet Wallwork - BDO LLP, William Bain - British Chambers of Commerce, Martyne Pearson - BDO LLP