WATCH: Mayor confident in the region 's post-Covid recovery

In a webinar held yesterday by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), chief executive Paul Faulkner discussed the region 's post-Covid recovery with mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street.

The discussion covered a range of topics central to the mayor 's work with businesses across the West Midlands and how businesses can help them overcome challenges related to Brexit and Covid-19.

In anticipation of the re-opening of essential industries in the next couple of months, Mr Street commented on the need to regain the West Midland 's pre-lockdown momentum.

The biggest impact to that momentum, he said, has been the impact on jobs and the rise in unemployment.

After the creation of 90,000 jobs in the first three years of his mayorship, he said that Covid has had a significant impact on that progress and resulted in over 100,000 job losses.

When asked how the region is positioned to bounce back from that impact, Mr Street said: “The youth and diversity of our workforce will be of huge benefit to us in our recovery. It remains, I believe, our biggest hidden advantage. ”

While businesses will begin to reopen in the upcoming months, Mr Street stressed that some industries will not be able to bounce back on the basis of consumer spending, as many others will.

While there might be uneven recovery, such as for the aerospace sector across the Black Country, he maintained confidence that the region was well positioned to rebuild post-pandemic.

A key driver in his optimism was the opportunity brought by the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

From a cultural, financial and sporting perspective, he largely supported that the Games would be a huge success for the region and also be instrumental in recreating those lost job opportunities post-pandemic.

Commenting also on the prospect that the Gigafactory will bring, provided that Government subsidy and external battery manufacturers are secured, the Mayor explained how the future USP of the region is decarbonising our current industrial processes and continuing our high productivity surrounding green technology.

To watch the conversation in full, scroll down�