Telford College hosted the first ‘in person’ meeting of Telford Business Board since the Covid lockdown, with all members agreeing it was great to be able to meet face-to-face once again.

The independently run board brings the public and private sectors together to act as a bridge between the town’s diverse and vibrant business sectors, ensuring the local business voice is heard and understood.

Members covered a wide range of topics, including skills and recruitment, access to finance, and the importance of gathering up-to-date market research and intelligence to map out the current health of the Telford economy.

They discussed the importance of aligning training and education with the needs of the local labour market, and developing clear employer-led strategies detailing what is required to support economic growth and boost productivity.

Will Westley, Telford Business Board’s chair, said: “We have been meeting regularly online since the Covid lockdown, but it is great to be able to meet up in person once again. The energy is fantastic when we get together.”

Beckie Bosworth, Telford College’s employer engagement manager, also explained some of the new opportunities which the college was now able to offer to help employees boost their basic English and maths skills.

“It’s not just about English and maths – although these are key areas – we are able to offer other ways of upskilling employees in the workplace. The majority of these programmes are fully funded too.”

Graham Guest, principal and chief executive of the college and also a business board member, said: “We have never previously been able to offer this degree of flexibility for adult funding in Telford. The benefit it offers for businesses is amazing.

“It is employee-driven, which means that the more interest we get, the more support we can deliver.”