As March draws to a close, it’s time to take a moment to reflect on the events, achievements, and moments that have defined our community over the past month. It’s been another packed month for the Chambers with events, training and engagements across the county.
Let’s journey back through the highlights of the past month and celebrate our collective journey.
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Chambers News
The Essex Chambers team have been extremely busy this month with a very active schedule of engagements. We believe in the strength of community, and the past month has reinforced this conviction with the number of different meetings, events and visits we’ve attended and facilitated in the county.
The month kicked off when our CEO, Denise Rossiter, compered c2c’s Pride Awards 2024 at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea. An annual event that recognises the outstanding hard work of c2c’s colleagues across the business and their commitment to the railway. It was an honour for Denise to take part in this joyous event and assist our Patrons in celebrating the achievements of their workforce.
Earlier this month Denise attended Tendring District Council’s Supporting Your Staff development event. She was joined by our LSIP Executive Director Andy Sparks and our Domestic Abuse Awareness in the Workplace Now (DAAWN) partner Paula Fisher, Director at Practical HR. The event was designed to share expertise with SMEs who recruit staff or are new to recruitment, as such Denise addressed attendees and explained the DAAWN initiative and the support it can offer to an organisation.
Our Client Relationship Manager, Kim Paxman, joined Denise at the official opening of the new Finishing Line premises in Basildon. There was a warehouse tour for invited delegates and an official opening ceremony officiated by Baroness Angela Smith of Basildon and Finishing Line’s Managing Director Andy Mead. The event also coincided with a visit from Clare Bottle, Chief Executive of the UK Warehousing Association as she commemorated her 22nd trip Around the Warehouses in 80 Visits. It was a pleasure for Denise and Kim to attend and celebrate the growth and expansion of one of Members.
To finish the month, Denise welcomed Lord Dominic Johnson, Minister for Investment & Trade to Southend. During his visit, he attended a meeting at Olympus, a big thank you to Kamalijit Hunjan, Group Managing Director and the team at Olympus for facilitating the Minister on his visit.
LSIP News
Our Executive LSIP Director, Andy Sparks, and LSIP Director, Joanne Giles, have been to a number of engagements across the county and further a field this month.
Andy had a productive day in London recently, attending a meeting with the Department of Education analysing our annual Essex LSIP Review Report before heading to Parliament for a meeting on Levelling Up and Skills.
Joanne and Kim Paxman both attended our latest employer engagement event, the LSIP Professional Services roundtable at First Intuition in Chelmsford. They were joined by fantastic businesses for a morning of engaging discussions looking at identifying the specific workforce skills requirements for the service sector.
To finish the month Joanne had the pleasure of joining Jonathan Reynolds, Shadow Secretary of State for Business & Trade on a visit to High House Production Park in Purfleet-on-Thames where they explored the wonderful scenery and costume design workshops for the Royal Opera House’s Backstage Centre. Also joined by the local Labour Parliamentary candidate, Jen Craft and the Leader of the Opposition on Thurrock Council, John Kent, the group got a chance to see the positive impact the creative industries have on the local economy. The visit comes after Labour’s announcement that their next government will work with the industry on an ‘Access to the Arts’ plan.
Talking about the visit Joanne said “The skills agenda in Essex is vibrant, cohesion is building as authorities are aligning actively to the priorities outlined in the LSIP. In 2023, the creative industries in Great Britain were valued at £115.9 billion, contributing nearly 6% to the British economy. Which is why bringing together sector specialists to discuss the priorities of the skills landscape is needed to ensure we are attracting and retaining talent.”
You can see what else our LSIP team have been up to in the latest Essex LSIP e-bulletin.
Eye Opening Webinar on Digital Sustainability
Our Members Footprint Digital delivered an incredibly insightful webinar this month on the impact our digital activity is having on our physical world. Outlining the real-world consequences and physical effects our online actions have was eye opening for our attendees. Footprint Digital were able to contextualise the problem whilst also offering simple, practical steps for our attendees to follow and engage with to reduce their digital carbon footprint. The main message of the session wasn’t that we shouldn’t be using digital tools but instead to remember to be mindful of our activity.
Judging from the reaction and feedback on social media this webinar was incredibly helpful for our attendees. Thank you to the Footprint Digital team for sharing your expertise.
‘The Digital Pound’ – The dawn of a new currency?
Attendees enjoyed an insightful evening at our Networking with the Bank of England event earlier this month. Held at the new Finishing Line facilities in Basildon, it was a pleasure to be joined by Kieran Dent, Agent for the South East & East Anglia for the Bank of England and his team as they led a fascinating presentation and assessment of the UK economy and explored the proposed function of a ‘digital pound’.
Attendees enjoyed engaging in a lively open Q&A session with the bank’s representatives on the functionality of the ‘digital pound,’ what this means for business and the possibilities this new currency has to evolve in the future. A great evening with fantastic insights and connections made!
Raising Awareness & Growing Connections at our latest Networking event
Our team and attendees had a fantastic evening at the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) North Weald Visitor’s Centre and Airbase recently. It was a great way to bring the Essex business community together to showcase the tremendous dedication and hard work that goes into providing the life-saving services the charity provides in our region.
Attendees heard from EHAAT’s Fundraising & Marketing Director, Pam Withrington, before heading off into groups to tour the amazing facilities. This was a brilliant opportunity for them to see behind the scenes and experience how the whole operation works.
A truly special moment for our attendees was to see the helicopter come back in from a mission, with a little extra flare in the landing. They then got the opportunity to get up close and see for themselves the on board equipment and talk to directly to the crew.
Thank you to EHAAT for all that you do. It was a pleasure to be able to share with our attendees this opportunity to network in such special surrounding whilst supporting the vital work this charity does. We were delighted to present the staff, crew and volunteers with a cheque with proceeds raised from ticket sales and donations.
What a March it’s been for the Chambers! If you would like to see what’s still to come for us then head to our website or check out our Upcoming Events at the ECC article.