Growth Programme Team at the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly LEP annual conference

The Growth Programme Team attended the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership’s annual conference last week held in the impressive location of the Eden Project Mediterranean biome.  With 135 delegates attending the breakfast meeting, there was lots of opportunity to update people on the progress of the Growth Programme and the projects that have been contracted.

During breakfast a series of speakers which included members of the LEP Board, Cornwall Council’s Chief Executive Kate Kennally and Cornwall Chamber of Commerce’s Kim Conchie spoke about the direction of the LEP and opportunities as well as the challenges Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly can look forward to.  This included a passionate speech from Lucy Edge, LEP Board member and Director of Satellite Operations at Avanti Communications on the subject of skills and creating a desirable place for “millennials” to work in.  That is, people born in the early eighties who are now advancing in their careers.

Following the breakfast and networking, an interesting workshop was held to ask many questions of the delegation to understand where they perceived the opportunities for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly lie and what areas face the greatest challenge.

Using interactive voting technology, the opinions of the room which included private, public and voluntary sector representatives, the results could be shared with the room instantly.  When asked,

Where should public funding be prioritised over the next 15 years?  37% said Infrastructure and 28% said Upskilling our workforce.  On the subject of challenges, when asked,

What do you sense is the single biggest challenge for business in CIoS?  63% of people answered “Recruiting & retaining skilled people”.  And when asked,

Which one of the following statements would be a good guide for the ambition of our region by 2030?, 51% said, “People & business look outward & compare against the best of the rest of the world”.

This was an excellent event with lots of positive comments from delegates as they walked back up to hill overlooking the impressive Eden Project Biomes.  For all the workshop questions and outcomes have a look at the LEP website.