Welcome to first Grapevine of 2024! Within these pages you’ll discover a wealth of information as we delve into our Member’s stories, achievements and expert knowledge. Let Grapevine be your guide to the latest happenings and highlights as well as a sneak peek into the exciting things we have planned in 2024 at the Chambers.
Not just a collection of updates, Grapevine is a celebration of the vibrant tapestry that is the Essex Business Community.
January has certainly felt like an extremely long month but that could be because we managed to fit so much in! But we can’t complain, a fantastically busy start to the year is a great sign of things to come.
Let’s look back at what the Chambers’ have been up to so far in 2024.
Political Engagements & The Bank of England
As the only accredited Chambers of Commerce in Essex we have unprecedented access to multiple levels of Government and we are extremely proud to represent the needs of our Members and the wider Essex business community to get your voices heard.
It was an honour to be invited to Leigh on Sea for an audience with the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on his recent visit with Anna Firth MP for Southend West. Our CEO, Denise Rossiter attended with other members of the Essex Chambers team to hear from the PM as he visited a number of local businesses.
There was no rest for Denise, as later that same day she attended a Private Dinner at the House of Commons with Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Laura Trott MP. Denise was joined by a selection of invited Members, Anna Firth MP and Shevaun Haviland the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, for a fantastic evening of discussion on trade and businesses issues with an engaging Q&A session. Attendees also got to voice what they wanted to see in the Spring Budget.
Denise and our Head of Policy Iain McNab, also recently met with Cllr Bayo Alaba in our Southend office. Cllr Alaba is campaigning to be Southend East & Rochford’s first Labour MP and is looking forward to meeting, supporting and growing the local business community.
As rumours circulate of when the next General Election will be, rest assured that as an a-political organisation we will be engaging with representatives from all parties to achieve the best possible outcome for Essex.
If all that wasn’t enough, we also recently held a Private Roundtable with the Bank of England. Invited attendees met with Megan Greene who was recently appointed to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England for a 3-year term. Members can also meet with Kieran Dent, Agent for the South East & East Anglia at our upcoming networking event on Tuesday 12th March at Finishing Line in Basildon.
Back to building business connections at our Networking Events
Our regular morning Virtual Networking sessions made a triumphant return this month. It was fantastic to see so many of you gain so much from the event, conversing and connecting with businesses you wouldn’t usually get a chance to talk to. In a world where connections matter more than ever, these sessions are a great way to engage with a diverse section of businesses in the county. Check out our website to see when the next session is and expand your network conveniently from the comfort of your desk.
It was great to be back for our first physical networking event of the year at Jaguar Land Rover in their Southend 
showroom. Attendees (and Chambers staff) thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by magnificent cars in very luxurious surroundings. We were also delighted to be joined by Head of Business at Southend, David Lake and Fleet & Business Program Manager John Burton who talked to attendees about the dealership’s innovative electrification plans. With delicious food, fast cars, and excellent networking opportunities we couldn’t have asked for a better start to our physical events programme.
One lucky attendee even got to win a weekend experience with a Jaguar F-Type, courtesy of the dealership. Congratulations to Anthony Payne from Monthind Clean Ltd who I’m sure will be the envy of his neighbours when he pulls onto his drive with this very flash prize.
Training & Workshops – Supporting you and your business
We’ve had some brilliant training and workshop sessions this January.
Our first Trade Expert course of the year was the Import Procedures & Documentation Training. The course facilitator Richard Bartlett took attendees through all the basic key areas of importing, including the stringent requirements for documentation. Selling internationally is very complex, but with the right training and knowledge it can be a huge boost to your business. What are waiting for? Look through our selection of Trade Expert courses and further your knowledge and global commerce opportunities.
We offer training and support on a number of topics including time management. In our recent Making the Most of your Day workshop, our trainer Robin Lodge equipped attendees with helpful tools to regain control of their time. Robin showed them simple techniques on how they can become more effective and ensure they never get over-awed by workloads.
Essex LSIP in the Community
It’s been a full-on start to the year for our Local Skills Improvement Plan Team. Executive LSIP Director, Andy Sparks and LSIP Director Joanne Giles have been representing the plan at a number of events this month. Recently they both attended the T Level Employer Support Conference for the South East with the Department for Education.
Jo and our Client Relationship Manager, Nick Brown, also exhibited at the Robert Halfon MP Jobs & Apprenticeships Fair in Harlow. The duo were on hand at the Latton Bush Centre to answer questions on the Essex LSIP and promote the work the plan is doing in the county. Essex Chamber’s were delighted to support the Skills Minister’s event in it’s 10th year.
Check out the new look LSIP Newsletter to read all about the latest project updates.