Second speaker announced for upcoming QBR event

Another speaker has been announced for the Chamber 's upcoming Q4 Quarterly Business Event.

Shilpi Akbar (pictured), head of Stakeholders and Communities at Balfour Beatty Vinci JV, will be joining the panel.

The event, happening at Birmingham City University on 7 February from 9 am to 11 am, will focus on growth in Greater Birmingham and will explore the domestic and international growth plans for businesses across the region.

Shilpi joined Chamber Patron Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV), a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and VINCI responsible for designing and building 90km of HS2, the largest infrastructure project in Europe.

Shilpi is head of Stakeholders and Communities, a role which enables her to lead the Skills, Education and Employment agenda right across areas impacted by BBV 's line of route.

As a member of BBV 's Executive team, Shilpi is delivering on a BBV commitment to deliver a 5 per cent apprenticeship workforce, as well as creating jobs for local people.

Her role sees her engage with a broad range of stakeholders, including local authorities, training providers and other strategic stakeholders such as politicians.

She also engages with the education sector across the region to ensure BBV positively impacts the careers and employment prospects of residents throughout the West Midlands.

Before joining BBV, Shilpi was Birmingham City Council 's assistant director for Employment and Skills.

Her responsibilities encompassed working directly with a range of major and small to medium businesses to provide solutions to their recruitment and skills needs whilst directing opportunities to disadvantaged communities, under-represented groups and unemployed residents.

In addition, Shilpi is a director on the Board of the Black Country and Marches IoT, and she sits on several other boards including the WM National Careers Service Advisory Board, the Solihull Employment and Skills Board and, more recently, the new employer Advisory Board for HMP Birmingham.

Shilpi grew up and studied in Birmingham and has also spent several years living and working in London where she graduated with an Honours Degree in Psychology.

Sponsored by Birmingham City University and now a well-established feature in the local business calendar, these high-quality events attract a senior level audience for networking, discussion and intelligence sharing.

The Quarterly Business Report offers an up-to-date snapshot of the performance of the Greater Birmingham business community.

Our flagship economic publication, it is the most comprehensive regular report of its kind in the city-region. Underpinning our report is data gathered from quarterly surveys completed by businesses from across the Greater Birmingham area.

Raj Kandola, GBCC head of policy said: “We are delighted that Shilpi will be joining the panel for our upcoming Quarterly Business Report launch event to discuss the growth opportunities that will be unlocked by HS2.

“As we emerge from a period of economic uncertainty, the work of BBV JV and HS2 will become even more important given the thousands of jobs and apprenticeships the programme will create.

“It 's an exciting time for the region and it will be fascinating to hear first hand about Shilpi 's role in engaging with key stakeholders and businesses across the skills and education landscape. ”

The event is free to attend and you can book your place here