President's Column: Working together to promote employment opportunities
We are fortunate in the West Midlands that job figures remain very healthy, with the employment rate at 74.9 per cent and the unemployment rate at 4.6 per cent - according to data released in August, writes Shaun Gray.
This is a clear sign that the labour market is beginning to return to pre-Covid levels, and we must aspire to support all local residents seeking work into meaningful employment and, where possible, ensure that we are retaining skilled talent. Demand for workers and open vacancies remains high and is expected to continue in this vein as business investment remains resilient in the face of rising costs.
That 's why Burton & District Chamber of Commerce is delighted that the Burton & Uttoxeter Jobs Fair being organised by Kate Kniveton, Member of Parliament, is taking place at Burton Albion on Thursday 29 September between 10am and 3pm.
The Jobs Fair is a brilliant initiative that will put around 60 employers in one room for potential employees to meet and get to know about jobs and apprenticeships available.
The Chamber is pleased to be a partner of this initiative alongside Burton Albion, Burton & South Derbyshire College, Department for Works and Pensions, East Staffordshire Borough Council and Trent & Dove. It is also fantastic that large local employers JCB and Unipart Logistics (part of Jaguar Land Rover group) are sponsoring this event.
As a Chamber, we are committed to collaborating with educators and the local business community to ensure that individuals are enabled to access employment opportunities and minimise the skills gaps constraining business growth.
This begins with good opportunities to explore employment, careers and education and providing ways to ensure people are prepared and inspired for the fast-changing world of work.
Bringing the business community together for a Jobs Fair is extremely important but we are also very fortunate to have Burton & South Derbyshire College, Burton Albion Community Trust and the Department for Works and Pensions not only supporting this event but serving the community every day with this same ethos.
Whilst the Jobs Fair presents a fantastic opportunity for people to explore employment opportunities across the region, there continues to be pressing issues relating to pay resulting in thousands of workers across many different industries striking, causing transport issues, bins not emptied and post undelivered to name but a few.
While regular pay, excluding bonuses, for those in employment appears to be increasing at the fastest rate on record, adjusted for current levels of inflation, the real value of pay fell at the sharpest rate ever recorded between April and June 2022.
The Chamber is calling on the Government to act decisively and offer fiscal support to address the significant rise in both the cost of living - expected to increase further throughout the year - and the cost of doing business. This ought to begin with immediate measures such as cutting up front costs for businesses, expanding the Shortage Occupation List and removing VAT from energy bills.
Please spread the word about the Jobs Fair and for more information contact [email protected] or call 01283 384026. If you would like to discuss any support your business needs or to come along to one of our regular networking events, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Shaun Gray is president of Burton & District Chamber of Commerce and managing director of Burton-based Ginho Group