Thursday 23rd November saw Business West host a number of business leaders from the most exciting Forest based companies to the Speech House hotel, where they had an evening of discussion, problem solving, and knowledge sharing.
Ian Mean MBE, the Director of Business West Gloucestershire, a Director of FEP and Vice Chair of GFirst LEP, chaired the event, which was a collaboration between Forest of Dean District Council, Business West, and Gloucestershire Chamber of Commerce.
It was fantastic to see such passion from home grown businesses who want to see the Forest of Dean thrive from opportunities and investment.
Guest speakers included Warren Thomas, CEO of Gloucestershire Engineering Training, Luke Freeman, Joint Chief Executive of MF Freeman, and Councillor Johnathan Lane, FoDDC Cabinet Member for Economy. The Forest of Dean District Council’s new CEO Nigel Brinn was also present to share his thoughts on the Forest economy as an ‘incomer’.
Ian opened the event with an interview with FEP Vice Chair Cllr Johnathan Lane, considering how his Green policies fit with growing the Forest’s economy (read the full interview here) The intention of the evening was to bring together the business community to discuss their backgrounds, skills and issues they may be facing in their industries. Common themes were quickly apparent, recruitment and planning.
For Gloucestershire Engineering Training, Warren Thomas explained recruitment was a significant problem, and will only worsen if nothing is done. GET have been providing engineering training to apprentices with a range of courses since 1977. They are a charity based at Barnwood in Gloucester, but they recently opened a second centre in Cinderford after recognising the high drop out rate for Forest of Dean students due to the travelling to Gloucester. GET are steadily growing, this year they have 20 apprentices and are expecting 25 next year, and with a 50% shortage of staff in engineering in Gloucestershire alone, these apprentices are sorely needed to replace the retiring workforce.
Luke Freeman of MF Freeman similarly said there is a desperate need to recruit younger people into construction to fill the worker shortages, which will allow them to expand the business and take on more ambitious projects, bringing even more opportunities into the area. Another problem is the constraints around planning, which can cause serious delays. 6 months between gaining consent and actually starting work is a good time frame! Based in Ruardean, MF Freeman are leaders in Gloucestershire’s construction and understand the importance of the local area, Luke shared in one of their recent builds they offered a 30% discount on homes for young people with a local connection. They have also recently won silver in the ‘Small Housebuilder of the Year category at the 2023 WhatHouse? Awards, often called the Oscar of the construction industry!
It is fair to say ‘Listening to Businesses’ was a resounding success, the importance of these events in building connections and connecting the right people to have the right conversations cannot be understated.
Keep an eye out for the next Business West event, or come along to the FEP Stakeholder on 7th December to hear more from some exciting Forest businesses.
Pictures:
Header (L-R) - Ian Mean, Wendy Jackson, Luke Freeman, Warren Thomas, Cllr Johnathan Lane.
End - Round table discussions at Listening to Businesses