THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED!

DATE: Monday 22nd April 2024
TIME: 9am – 1pm
VENUE: Canal Court Hotel, Newry
COST: FREE

EVENT OVERVIEW:

Addressing RECRUITMENT & SKILLS shortages is one of the biggest challenges facing Businesses and Employers in the Greater Newry Area. There is a pressing need for all key stakeholders with responsibility for preparing potential employees for the workplace to engage with employers to devise a sustainable workforce strategy for the coming decades.

This crucial Forum is aimed at starting a conversation between Businesses/Employers, Education and Training Providers and Recruiters in the Greater Newry Area around how we meet the challenges of an increasingly difficult recruitment market and develop skills here to meet the short, medium and long-term needs of business and industry.

One of Newry Chamber’s core strategic pillars is centred on bringing Businesses and Education and Training Providers together to develop a strategy to tackle our region’s skills and recruitment challenges. This Forum is the first step in that process.

Keynote Speakers at the Forum will include:

• Kathleen O’Hare, Chair, Northern Ireland Skills Council
• Dr Eoin Magennis, Principal Economist, Ulster University Economic Policy Centre

Keynote Addresses will be followed by a series of panel discussions consisting of:

• Young People – Our ambitions and expectations for the future
• Education & Training Providers – The challenge of meeting employers’ needs
• Businesses & Employers – The need for enhanced collaboration

John Campbell, BBC NI’s Business & Economics Editor is our MC for the Forum and he will be wrapping up proceedings with a feedback session from those in attendance which will help shape a locally focused recruitment and skills strategy to be framed at a major conference in Autumn 2024.