Member Article

Capital and skills investments will help Mid-Warwickshire economy recover from Covid

Investment in skills and capital projects will help the economy of Mid-Warwickshire recover from Covid-19 more quickly, businesses have heard.

Andrew Day, the Leader of Warwick District Council, and Fay Winterburn, the Lead Commissioner on Employability and Skills at Warwickshire County Council, both addressed the Mid-Warwickshire Branch of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

They explained how the region had adapted to life during the Covid-19 crisis but how they believe the regional economy has the potential to grow in the future.

Winterburn outlined a new package of support that is on offer to businesses that may be considering making redundancies – including the potential to have staff seconded to other workplaces until their skills are required again; the opportunity to upskill employees; and also a focus on wellbeing for staff and employers during the stressful period.

She also highlighted how Warwickshire County Council has adapted how it highlights careers opportunities to schoolchildren, who cannot currently access work experience, including businesses being filmed by a media team to showcase the roles within their firms, which are then shown in schools.

“We want to do everything we can to prevent as many job losses as possible,” she said. “We want to be in a position, once the crisis is over, that we have the skills we need to grow the regional economy.

Councillor Day outlined some of the major investments coming to Leamington including improvements at the railway station ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and progress on the Creative Quarter.

He said: “There is significant capital investment taking place in Leamington. It forms a big part of the region’s recovery plan that will help to protect jobs and create new opportunities in Warwickshire.”

Sean Rose, Policy Officer at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We were very grateful to Andrew and Fay for updating businesses in Mid-Warwickshire on the latest developments on skills and on some of the capital investments.

“While all businesses are working extremely hard to come through the current crisis it’s important to have an eye on the future and how we recover and grow the economy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .