The Chamber hosts two Area Councils, one in Worcestershire and one in Herefordshire. Each Area Council consists of 15 specialists, from different sectors, who meet six times a year to provide feedback from their respective professions. The feedback is then used to inform our economic reports and shape the policy activity we deliver to Member businesses.
To find out more about your sector representative, or to get in touch to ensure your views are heard, click here.
Below is a summary of key sector updates from the latest Herefordshire Area Council meeting.
Chamber Lobbying
There are still many challenges which our Members and businesses continue to face. As a Policy department we are always engaging with local MP’s and the British Chambers of Commerce to help raise the profile of challenges which businesses continue to face such as Brexit, skills, access to finance and many more.
In recent weeks we have circulated documents from the BCC to highlight some of the policy work they are doing to provide support with the challenges Members continue to face. The feedback we get from Area councils helps the policy team at H&W Chamber and BCC understand where to focus our efforts and make effective change.
Engineering
Labour and material shortages and prices. Transport shortages and delivery issues. Material lead times gone from weeks to months. Paying up to 300% more for material, particularly if you have to swap suppliers due to lead times.
Medical
Market conditions buoyant with good levels of opportunities and hence demand. Generally global capacity shortage driving longer lead times. Recruitment proving more challenging with reduced number of applicants, seems common talking with local HR colleagues, specialist science slightly harder to recruit. Some supply chain issues, still around specific PPE and medical supplies with shortages and delayed delivery for many items with corresponding cost increases for a range of supplies. Changes to several regulatory area processes. Some still ‘bedding in’.
Education
Apprenticeship recruitment looking healthy this year (c.800). Higher education down this year, rule changes have meant less numbers this year (c.450) – strong numbers in engineering which is great. DfE bill currently going through, will help support businesses better. Still some challenges with T level rules.
Marketing & Media
Going well, more public sector work. Commercial focus on marketing and smaller project but industry strong. Recruitment focusing on contracts, rather than permanent, but still struggling with resource in certain skills.
Defence & Security
Defence sector picking up due to increased concerns and political change and challenges. Supply chain ok – other than microchips which can be in products, making supply delayed. Have to manage client expectations to ensure ongoing trust. Cyber – phishing and cyber-attacks up 80%, huge challenge, most attacks now are money related. Most companies need more than the free downloads/links/apps. Training for staff critical – for example, post new staff on LinkedIn once they know the internal rules, process and security, as typically new staff who don’t know company policies will be targeted.
Banking
Sustainability increasingly part of policy to ask clients what their plans are and will be subject to debt and underwriting consideration. Regulatory compliance – know your business and know who your clients are – directors, shareholders, parents, overseas companies etc. For banks this is mandatory, but a good tip for other businesses to be conscious of. Forecasting – when the CIBLS and BBL were available it was primarily backward focused. However, new environment is about looking forward, forecasting and narrative around this will be key.
Manufacturing
In the past 12 months with the ever-increasing raw material prices making re-quoting projects a far more common activity than normal. Like other businesses, the challenges remain largely around material supply, shipping of goods efficiently and having the right people skills.
Sports & Leisure
In general demand for products is still buoyant although turnover is being affected by lack of stock. The value of stock has reduced over the last 6 months. Import freight costs increasing (up to 700%). It seems that most retailers are busy as well as online customers, so bricks and mortar shops are holding their own against internet retailers.
Food & Drink
Food shortages are likely to increase as we move into autumn and winter when the UK food sufficiency drops from 60% to 40% as a dependence on southern Europe for fresh vegetables and soft fruit increases. Plus, Products of Animal Origin (POAO) will have increased testing and documentation/traceability requirements from 1st October. The system to manage this at the EU borders does not seem to be in place at the moment. Citing only 5 days working for the departments involved in France. The driver shortage and reluctance to travel to the UK is well documented in the news.
Transport & Logistics
The headline is really that the nationwide driver shortage continues and is affecting supply chains. There are trucks parked up in most yards due to lack of driver availability and wage inflation is acute. It is unlikely that the situation will improve between now and Christmas with it taking approximately six weeks to receive a HGV provisional licence before you start the practical side of the process. With a record 1m vacancies in the UK, the transport sector will struggle to compete for new talent.
Agriculture, Farming & Horticulture
Overall, the sector is slowly getting back to pre-Covid levels with a little more consistency in customer demand – however, the hospitality sector still has huge issues around staffing, Covid passport scheme etc. The sector remains variable on location and capacity. Many outlets are still operating at reduced levels. Supply issues remain around cardboard, bottles, caps and transport. Still quite a lot of uncertainty around what Christmas will look like for the drinks sector. Inflationary pressures from suppliers will almost certainly see an increase in overall prices towards the end of this year and into next year. Regarding agricultural side – main pressure remains around staffing – harvests will need to be completed but with reduced work forces which may present some issues.