Welcome from Cllr Izzi Seccombe

Welcome to the September edition of Warwickshire Means Business, our bi-monthly update of news, features and information for the business community.

Since the July issue of WMB the dust has settled a little on the Brexit vote and, as our chief economist Dave Ayton-Hill explains in The Warwickshire Outlook, the immediate fallout from the vote to leave the EU has been less severe than predicted by some.

The economy has remained relatively stable and whereas, immediately after the vote, a majority of economists believed a dip into recession this year was likely, a majority now takes the opposite view.

It remains, of course, a highly complex situation and one which the excellent staff in our Economic Development team are monitoring closely, and reacting to wherever necessary, to ensure that the interests of businesses big and small in the county are protected.

An inevitable degree of uncertainty remains. These are challenging and changing times, particularly at the council where we are faced with the prospect of making £67million of savings by 2020, but we will continue to prioritise our business community and safeguard a strong economy for the future.

A key part of this is the need to nurture young talent and promote and encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs, employers and employees.

It is vital that young people are trained, motivated and given every opportunity to fulfil their talent and make the right career choices to enable them to become an important and constructive part of the community themselves. At Warwickshire County Council, we attach the highest priority to this, a commitment which is illustrated by several stories in this edition of Warwickshire Means Business.

Our £2.4m Skills for Employment programme, equipping our young people to succeed in the workplace, is yielding excellent results. Our commitment to apprenticeships has been recognised nationally with the short-listing for the Best Apprenticeship Scheme category of the CIPD People Management Awards.

Meanwhile, our commitment to small business has been recognised by our receiving the Best All-round ‘Small business friendliness’ award from the Federation of Small Businesses while the Warwickshire Rural Growth Network, which is managed by our Economy and Skills Group on behalf of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, has just been highly commended in the 2016 Enterprising Britain Awards.

All this helps to explain why Warwickshire remains a magnet for investment from overseas, with new jobs continuing to be created in the county, despite the fears expressed by some after the Brexit vote. There is so much going on to support Warwickshire's business community. Please do have a read through this edition of Warwickshire Means Business, see how we can support your business - and get in touch.

Some things never change, the amazing skills, enterprise, range and vision of Warwickshire's business community - and our commitment to support that community every way we can.