Mandy's on a mission to promote the "brilliant" Ecomomy & Skills team

"The range of support available to businesses is breathtaking...my mission is to promote the team's offer left, right and centre!"

Cllr Mandy Tromans already knew that the support offered to the business community by Warwickshire County Council's Economy & Skills team was impressive.

But after becoming more closely involved with the team, since joining the council last May, Cllr Tromans fully discovered the depth and diversity of that support - and is now committed to doing all she can to ensure that businesses across Warwickshire know all about it.

With a background in HR, and particularly skills and training, the Nuneaton-based councillor has taken on a role shadowing WCC's Portfolio Holder for Economy and Place, Cllr Kam Kaur.

It is a role she is relishing and one to which she brings a passion for skills, a background in business...and 'a fresh pair of eyes.'

"I am very fresh to the council and I think there is some value in that," Cllr Tromans said. "The Economy & Skills team are fantastic with so much experience and knowledge but maybe someone coming in from outside like myself, can just add another perspective -  the view of the person in the street.

"I am very new to it all and learning as I go, but it is already very clear how much brilliant work goes on and how much sheer hard work is put in, as with the Adapt & Diversify team who richly deserved their Star award last week.

"The range of support available to businesses is breathtaking. The one thing the team perhaps doesn't do, because they haven't got time, is shout about what they do so that the maximum number of businesses hear about it. That's where I will help...my mission is to promote the team's offer left, right and centre!"

Cllr Tromans' particular passion is skills which she sees as crucial to the continuing strength of Warwickshire's economy.

"I worked for an events company which was very skills-driven and it has always been a huge area of interest of mine," she said. "We all know what a tough couple of years it has been and most of all for certain sector like hospitality and tourism. We need to do all we can to keep a pipeline of skilled employees coming through and available to businesses.

"I am very excited by the work that Fay Winterburn and the Skills Hub team are doing around this and keen to support them in any way I can.

"Of course, many businesses have taken a hit from the pandemic but what we do have in our favour in Warwickshire is a fundamentally strong economy to rebuild from. When the pandemic hit, there was a lot of negativity and some people thought the economy would never recover, but it is moving forward again. Perhaps one positive to come out of it is that it has made businesses think again about skills and about how they are transferable and how important it is to be flexible."

To find out more about the business skills support available from Warwickshire County Council, please visit https://skillshub.warwickshire.gov.uk/