Chamber News

Although a lot of work is happening behind the scenes, a consultation on the details of Sizewell C will not start until Norfolk Chamber Patron EDF knows how it is going to pay for its current new nuclear power station project in Somerset. However the company has not been sitting on its hands over the multi-million investment.

Tom McGarry EDF head of communications said:

“It is really important to note that we are making really solid progress in terms of coming to a final investment decision. We are making too progress with government and with potential investors at Hinkley Point.

“It is really important to stress that we will not come out and consult on the details of our second nuclear new build project until we know how we are paying for the first”

Mr McGarry advises that it would take 5,600 workers to build the stations and millions of tons of material will have to be exported and imported to the site. As a reference point the amount of material that would have to be moved from Hinkley Point would fill Wembley Stadium about three times.

Currently EDF are undertaking surveys and transport assessments and are working with the planning authorities and local communities on the planning process.

The plans are progressing for Sizewell C we will have to wait a bit longer before it’s construction will start to contribute to the Norfolk economy.

In conjunction with the Norfolk Show Ground, the Norfolk Chamber have a number of tickets for the event to give away to members of the Norfolk Chamber.

We have 2 sets of prizes to give away:

• 4 x Corporate Package – inc entry on either 1 or 2 July, car parking pass, entry to corporate hospitality on Thursday 2 July
• 5 x Entry – entry on either 1 or 2 July

The closing date for this is the 24th June

Winners will be announced on the 25th June

So for your chance to win simply fill in this onlineform

• Open to Members of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce only
• 1 entryper company

The term ‘apprenticeship’ will be protected in law, the government has just announced. It is hoped that this will strengthen their reputation and ensure apprenticeships are recognised as a career path equal to higher education.

With over 2.2 million apprenticeships created since 2010 the government will also enshrine in law its commitment to create 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.

With apprenticeships giving hope and opportunity to more young people, and helping all types and sizes of businesses grow in communities across Norfolk, the Skills Minister will legally protect the term ‘apprenticeship’ through the Enterprise Bill. This will give government the power to take action when the term is misused to promote low quality courses.

To ensure that more young people can benefit the minister has also announced that public bodies will now be set targets to take on more apprentices. Schools, hospitals, prisons and police forces will all be creating opportunities for young people to get on.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said: ‘Many businesses have come to recognise the value of apprentices and schools are starting to promote them as a real alternative to University. However, there remains a perception from many parents that apprenticeships are second best. In Norfolk there are some fantastic opportunities for young people with fast growing companies and it is a positive move that the government also recognise how important they are to the local economy’

Norfolk Chamber welcomed the latest unemployment figures for Great Yarmouth, which highlighted that the claimant count rate for the Borough stood at 2.8% in May 2015 – its lowest ever recorded rate.

The findings were published in the latest Great Yarmouth unemployment briefing. All local authorities in Norfolk recorded falls in their claimant count rates with King’s Lynn and West Norfolk recording the largest fall of -7.3%. Great Yarmouth rate fell by 3.7% representing 62 fewer claimants than the previous month. Overall Norfolk as a county sits at 13th place out of 30 in the East and South East County ratings, with a total of 7.237 claimants.

Commenting ahead of the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg tomorrow (18 June), John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:

“With a messy Grexit looking increasingly likely, many UK businesses may behit by the resulting market upheaval, changes in trade flows, and payment issues. Central banks and governments must work to limit the disruption to business through all means possible.

“As with every crisis, we need to be hard-headed enough to see if there is an opportunity in the agony. It is possible that Grexit may produce a silver lining for the UK as it seeks to redefine its position in Europe. In the aftermath of Grexit, the Eurozone would have to hold an honest debate about further integration and its future operation to prevent something similar ever happening again. Within those discussions there would be an opportunity for the UK to secure meaningful changes and opt-outs that ensure a reformed EU aids our competitiveness.”

Sunday saw the Norfolk Chamber teaming up with Steeles Law toplay in the Norwich Rebels Touch Summer League 2015.

The 10 men and women from Steeles Law team was bolstered by Jason Williams from the Norfolk Chamber as they braved the wet conditions at Eaton Park for their first match, and despite some slipping and sliding on the wet grass (mostly from Jason) a lot of potential was shown for future games.

Overall a great time was had by all and we look forward to more of the same for next Sunday’s match against Norwich Rebels 2.

Urgent changes are being made to local access arrangements at the Postwick junction road works to reduce the risk posed by traffic queuing back on to the westboundA47.

From Monday evening (15 June) after the evening peak, access to Postwick village and Brundallwill no longer be possible via the existing bridge over the A47 (although access to Postwick Park & Ride will be retained). This is because traffic management changes for a new phase of work on the new Oaks Lane roundabout, to the south of the A47, have resulted in traffic queuing back down the slip on to the dual carriageway.

Adjustment to the temporary traffic light timings did not solve the problem, so the access to Postwick village via the existing bridge and Church Road has had to be closed to ensure a free flow of traffic leaving the A47, maintaining safety on the westbound carriageway. Traffic heading for Postwick village and Brundall is being diverted via the A47 to the Cucumber Lane roundabout. This is likely to be necessary until construction of the Oaks Lane roundabout is complete, in about four to six weeks.

Norfolk County Council apologises for the inconvenience this will cause to local residents.

West Norfolk Chamber Council held their latest meeting at the community pub, the King’s Arms at Shouldham and received an update on RAF Marham’s future plans from Wing Commander Ady Portlock.

RAF Marham is the second largest unit in the Royal Air Force. The base is home to 2,500 service personnel, 200 civil servants and approximately 5,000 dependents, plus 1,000 contractors.

Only a few years ago, RAF Marham’s future was in doubt, as the Tornado jets, based at Marham, were being phased out in favour of a new jet. However, the decision to base the new Joint Strikeforce Fighter (JSF) – Lightening II, at Marham has secured the base’s future in Norfolk until at least 2050.

In February 2015, the Prime Minister, announced that £300 million would be invested in RAF Marham to equip the base to accommodate the new JSF.

The Tornado will be phased out over the next couple of years, with the Lightening II coming into full operation in 2019. RAF Marham will also have a training centre for the JSF, which will encourage the European nations to use Marham. In addition, the US Air Force has also announced that Lakenheath in Suffolk will be their JSF base. This will effectively make our region a key hub for the Joint Strikeforce Fighter.

Work on the base’s upgrades will commence towards the end of 2015, with the peak of the work coming in 2017. It is expected that there will be over 1,500 additional contractors on the base carrying out these works. This should provide some opportunities for local contractors and will definitely increase the local economic spend in the West Norfolk area.

With key contractors such as Circo, BAE, Rolls Royce and ISS all having or developing apprenticeship programmes, there will also be future opportunities for young people in West Norfolk.

Heather Garrod, President of West Norfolk Chamber said:

“It is fantastic to know that RAF Marham’s future is secure until 2050 and so exciting to see so many future opportunities for our local economy and businesses, as a result of the JSF being based at Marham.

With so much is being invested in West Norfolk, is vitally important that West Norfolk’s young people understand what future opportunities are available to them, right here West Norfolk.”

Following their discussion on RAF Marham, the West Norfolk Chamber Council also identified their goals for 2015/16. They agreed to:

• Recruit a further 3 West Norfolk Chamber Council members by the end of 2015

• Increase West Norfolk Chamber membership by 10%

• Create 8 x new apprenticeships with businesses that have not previously had an apprentice in the last 5 years

Norfolk Chamber welcomed a new initiative from KLM through Norwich International Airport to attract more users to the regional airport. The initiative will allow a FREE lounge pass for Amsterdam Schipol Airport (worth 50 euros) and is available to the first 10 responders.

To claim the free lounge pass, book your KLM flight from Norwich in the usual way and then email the booking details to connects@norwichinternational.com. Full details can be found here.

Norwich Airport offers the opportunity to easily connect to the rest of the world via onward flights through Amsterdam, Manchester and Aberdeen. Norwich operates both scheduled and holiday flights – a full list of destinations and operating days can be found by clicking here.

There has been a sharp fall in the number of apprenticeships in the construction and IT sectors over the past five years.

There were 16,890 construction, planning and built environment apprentices in 2009-10, but this had more than halved to barely 8,000 just four years later. The construction industry has complained of an ageing workforce, but apprentice numbers suffered as companies struggled for work when they were badly hit by the economic crisis.

There were 10,510 apprentices who entered the information and communications technology sector in 2010-11, but this fell to under 8,000 for the following two years – still much higher than pre-financial crisis levels. Retail and leisure travel and tourism sectors have suffered declines since 2012.

There is also concerned about an apparent lack of take-up in certain sectors of high-level apprentices, which can lead to degrees by the end of the training.

By contrast, apprenticeships in health, public services and care shot up from 28,230 in 2009-10 to nearly 58,000 four years later. The number setting out in careers in agriculture, animal care and horticulture was up 22.4 per cent to 4,480 over the same time.

The Skills minister, Nick Boles, said: “We want far more employers to get involved in apprenticeships. This means making sure that we practise what we preach in government, so we’re going require all public-sector bodies – schools, hospitals, prisons and police forces – to employ apprentices.”

Caroline Williams, CEO Norfolk Chamber said “These statistics back up what we are hearing from our members. Many of our larger companies, especially in IT, are finding it hard to recruit the number of apprentices needed to meet their requirements. There continues to be a misunderstanding about the opportunities that especially the high level apprentices can bring to a young person. The drive to go to university is still strong for our more able students but we would encourage Norfolk’s young people and their parents to ensure that the apprenticeship route is considered carefully as a real alternative”

At a recent Norwich Chamber Council meeting, the members received an update on the work being done by the Norwich BID on accessibility to Norwich. This included looking at the Park and Ride contract, understanding the Norwich Area Transport Strategy (NATS) and city centre congestion.

It was agreed that these issues affected not just city centre businesses community, but the wider business community and the Chamber should work in partnership with the Norwich BID to ensure that the thoughts and views of the Greater Norwich business community and further were taken into account.

The economic update from the council members highlighted that there is a strong positive feel to the business community, although recruitment is still seen as an issue. More organisations are looking to recruit apprentices and in particular those between 16 – 18 years old.

Peter Foster, Chair of Norwich Chamber Council said:

“Accessibility to Norwich is very important, as a rural county, we need the city to remain fully accessible to all forms of transport. For the benefit of the city centre retail and businesses, we need a strong and effective Park and Ride Service, which makes Norwich accessible to both visitors and commuters alike. There are many changes taking place to the traffic flows in Norwich, the local business community needs to understand what these changes mean to them and have the ability to give their input.”

Ahead of the latest Great Yarmouth Chamber Council meeting, the members toured the 65% complete Beacon Park with Robin Neve. Beacon Park is part of the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Enterprise Zone and is a mixture of offices light industrial units and warehousing, all aimed at the energy sector and clean modern industry. Details for Beacon Park can be found on their website: www.beaconpark.co.uk

The overall goal of the Enterprise Zone is to create new jobs and attract new businesses and enquiries for the Enterprise Zone are strong. Some of the benefits of the Enterprise Zone are simplified planning, reduce business rates for the first 5 years of occupancy, if premises are occupied before March 2018.

The Great Yarmouth Chamber council received an update on the overall Enterprise Zone from Eunice Edwards, the EZ Co-ordinator.

The Enterprise Zone in Great Yarmouth consists of Beacon Park and the larger South Denes area. In the Lowestoft Enterprise Zone there are a further 4 sites. At present 90% of those who have occupied units in the Great Yarmouth Enterprise Zone are from the local area and are looking to expand their businesses. The premises that they are vacating are quickly being filled, so the Great Yarmouth economy appears to be continuing to thrive, despite the recent slow down in the oil and gas industry.

Andy Penman, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber said:

“It is important to support the local business community and help drive economic growth and jobs in our region. Key issues for Great Yarmouth are skills shortages and the decline of our town centre. Therefore the Great Yarmouth Chamber Council members have set themselves three goals:

• Create 6 x new apprenticeships in the 12 month period between April 2015 – March 2016.
• Work towards securing a nationally known brand retailer to Great Yarmouth town centre
• Increase the Chamber membership in Great Yarmouth by 10%

We will work in partnership with local businesses, education establishments and the Great Yarmouth Borough Council to achieve these goals.”