Businesses from around the district heard from key employment organisations, and shared ideas about finding and retaining staff at the East Hants Rural Business Network breakfast on Friday (30 June) at the Angel Hotel, Privett.
Speakers at the event were Cllr Rob Mocatta, EHDC Cabinet Member and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Prosperity, Damian Hinds MP, Simon Lanaway, Regional Development Manager at Fedcap, and Gabriel Amhwe, Regional Probation Director at The Probation Service (South Central Division).
Subjects discussed included the skills required from candidates, routes to successful recruitment, opportunities for professional development, and reasons for leaving a job.
Damian Hinds, MP for East Hampshire, said: “There is real value in bringing local firms together to talk about the challenges currently facing their businesses and to learn from each other’s experiences.
With historically low unemployment rates in East Hants, finding the right staff in the right numbers has always been the number one issue that people raise with me. It is now becoming a much bigger issue across the country.
We still have a sizeable chunk of people who are not in employment but want to work. The focus now has to be on giving these individuals the help they need, whether through apprenticeships, returnerships for the over 50s, childcare or disability support, to re-enter the workplace.”
Cllr Mocatta, EHDC portfolio holder for Regeneration and Place, said:
"This was a great event and I’m sure that all of the businesses that attended got a lot out of it.
"In such a tight employment market, we’re doing everything we can to support local small businesses which are the lifeblood of our local economy.
"The feedback from our businesses will help develop a major event we will be hosting in the autumn for East Hampshire residents to see what is available out there – from valuable volunteering opportunities to paid employment.”
To find out more about the autumn event (as an exhibitor or an attendee) and to stay up to date, visit the Business East Hants website or sign up for our business bulletins.
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UKSPF
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.