Town Topis with Ipswich Chamber of Commerce

Membership of the Ipswich Town Chamber, part of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, means being part of an organisation that actively campaigns to ensure that the voice of the business community is heard loud and clear by policy makers and others.

Across the county, our strategic concerns revolve around ensuring that the county has both the physical infrastructure that is fit for doing business in the twenty first century and a dynamic workforce with the skills and aptitudes to compete with the best across the globe. In Ipswich, these priorities are enshrined in our manifesto.

That’s why I’m delighted that the Government has given the thumbs up for the Wet Dock crossing – one of our manifesto commitments. This development will undoubtedly bring more growth and jobs to our town. Lobbying – of the right kind - clearly works.

The Suffolk Chamber’s No More A14 Delays campaign – aimed at addressing this vital road’s many problems - is also gaining real momentum, as it attracts more and more support from businesses and politicians. But we now need hard evidence from local businesses that show the negative impacts on them from this increasingly unfit for purpose road. Please contact me if you can help.

Ensuring that our workforce has the right skills is also essential. That’s why I’m delighted about the ongoing successes of the Employer Training Incentive Pilot, which has just awarded its 1000th grant.

ETIP was launched a year ago as a joint venture between the Norfolk and Suffolk Chambers of Commerce with funding from Suffolk County Council. Its remit is to help small and medium businesses train any of their employees aged 19 years and upwards on both accredited courses such as NVQs and non-accredited training. Contact mick@suffolkchamber.co.uk for more details.

We are also a partner in the recently launched TechEast – an initiative aimed at both showcasing the successes of existing businesses and increasing further inward investment in to the growing technology sector in East Anglia. The aim is to increase the number of such jobs by 5000 to 38000 by 2020. This can only benefit Greater Ipswich’s already vibrant tech business base.

Ipswich Chamber also organises many interesting networking opportunities for local businesses to get together and learn from each other. Our next Networking Brunch is on May 20 2 from 9.30am – 11am at Trinity Park, Ipswich and will include speeches from Terry Baxter and Ben Gummer MP on the subject of Ipswich Vision.

This is open to both Chamber members and non-members.

More information at http://www.suffolkchamber.co.uk/events/

Dave Muller, chair

Ipswich Chamber of Commerce