Telford College is backing a new survey encouraging businesses to have their say on skills, opportunities and employment across the borough.

Telford Business Board is promoting an important piece of research, commissioned by the Government, which allows better and more targeted future support for businesses around all aspects of skills.

Will Westley, TBB board chair and managing director of Priority Managed Services Ltd, said: “By connecting with this research, we have an unparalleled opportunity to directly influence Government policy, focus, and spend, and to ensure that we’re all able to access the employees and team members we need in the months and years ahead.

“As part of our mission as a board, we recognise how important it is for the voice of Telford’s businesses to be heard. Loudly and clearly.

“And so, we’re asking for all businesses to complete the survey, and offer insights into your current training access, past successful support that is no longer provided, skills gap you’re experiencing, and exactly what you need from your workforce – now and in the future.”

The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete and can be found here.

Alternatively, questions can be answered in a one-to-one interview (face-to-face, via Zoom, or over the phone), which can be requested by emailing lsip@shropshire-chamber.co.uk.

Telford College principal and chief executive Graham Guest, a TBB board director, added: “It’s vital that businesses across the borough – especially those in engineering and manufacturing (including food and drink), professional services, construction (including environmental technologies), and health and social care – get involved.

“If you have any queries, please feel free to get in touch, and send me an email to graham.guest@telfordcollege.ac.uk, and do mention TBB in the subject.

“I’d be happy to discuss this further with you, and/or relay any issues or questions with fellow board members. This will help us take a powerful step to resolving a challenge so many of us face, and this opportunity should not be missed.”

Telford Business Board CIC is made up of a dynamic collection of outstanding business leaders and sector champions that cover all of the key industries in the region.

They drive positive change, bring the public and private sectors together, and act as a bridge between the diverse and vibrant business sectors that make up the Telford community.