Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

New research by the British Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with global job site Indeed, reveals the increasing time it’s taking businesses to recruit the skills they need, emphasising the importance of removing blockers in the training system to develop a pipeline of talent.

The number of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) has been disproportionately low for as long as records detail. Women make up just 12% of engineers and 26% of computing professionals.

It’s back and bigger!

As we hurtle towards a relatively quiet season and well-deserved summer break – have you thought about ramping up your networking activity to provide the growth and momentum you need to start Q3 and Q4 strong?

University of Bedfordshire Business School academics are leading the way in advancing the quality of business and management education in higher education.

Commenting on the inflation statistics for May 2019, published today by the Office for National Statistics, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: 

“The easing in consumer prices in May is further evidence

The Forest Of Marston Vale is honoured to announce that they have been accredited as part of The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy project.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 came into force in England this year.

The Act means that all social and private sector landlords, or agents acting on their behalf, will be required

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today released its latest economic forecast, upgrading its growth expectations for the UK in 2019 to 1.3% (from 1.2%).

Do you, as a leader, fear change?

Perhaps you've noticed employees are becoming stuck in their ways. Or things have become stagnant.

Does a "this is the way we’ve always done things" attitude permeate the business?

2018 saw Land and Property Professionals, Robinson & Hall’s party wall surveyors involved in over 80 Party Wall Awards

JPA is about more than just furniture and we thought it was time to show the world more of what we do and how we do it. Our new Workspaces site is live, and so is our live chat so take a peek

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe (COBCOE) announce that they have reached an agreement that will see 24 additional British Chambers across Europe become part of the BCC’s Global Business Network

Luton Adult Learning are running the following:

Mental Health First Aid 
The Centre for Mental Health has found that mental ill health costs UK employers an estimated £34.9 billion each year - the equivalent of £1,300 for every employee in the UK workforce. Broken down, that's £10.6 billion in sickness absence,

Mary Vincent of Willow Tree Gin is a solo female entrepreneur with a passion for food and drink.

Her love of creating new recipes and experimenting with herbs was the guiding force behind her business venture.

Local community support group Helping Hands Woburn Sands celebrates its first birthday this month and is calling on more people to get involved as part of Volunteers’ Week, a national campaign which runs from the 1^st-7^th June.

When we think of overseas trade, we tend to associate that world with larger companies equipped with thousands of staff, warehouses and factories across the country. But it's a common misconception that is denying so many smaller businesses from pursuing their full export potential.

In the early hours of Monday 13^th May, the Barn at the Forest Centre & Millennium Country Park (Marston Moretaine) was broken into and goods over the value of £30k were stolen. The Centre is run by the Forest of Marston Vale, and such a huge loss is a devastating blow to the charity, who are planting trees and creating woodlands across the area. 

The Total Wellbeing Luton healthy lifestyles team can come to Luton  workplaces and conduct NHS Health Checks around everyone’s busy schedules. 

Whether we've experienced its presence in the media, or benefitted from a successful outcome, lobbying will have played a role in most of our lives.

Perhaps we've even felt its impact as a business, through a policy that was either rejected or supported by parliament.

Despite the fact that we spend an average of 13 years of our life at work, the workplace environment hasn't always gotten the attention it deserves.

Your culture is the lifeblood of your business. In an environment where moral and ethical values are promoted and people are encouraged to think and feel more positively, employees and teams will thrive. This fosters better teamwork, better customer service and as a result, a better overall business performance.